Alliance
by Sir Alwick
Summary: COMPLETE: Earth's mightiest heroes united against the universes most unstoppable evil. BBXRAE
1. Chapter 1

**Alliance**

Beast Boy snickered to himself as he loaded the white and black pieces back into the box. He had spent weeks preparing, practicing his technique, working out all the best strategies all in anticipation of this day. Now it was finally time to put his plan into action.

"She's not going to know what hit her," he said, smiling to himself.

* * *

"Raven?"

His voice echoed through the halls of Titans Tower as he called the mage's name in a sort of singsong.

"Raven, you in there?" He asked, knocking on the door to her room and waiting for a response.

"You can stop the silent treatment, Raven, we both know you are," he said after another period of silence.

The box shifted in his hands from his left to his right as he waited. He contemplated knocking again when a low, gravely voice sounded from the other side of the door.

"What do you want, Gar?" Asked Raven in her usual monotone.

The changeling smiled to himself. Persistence truly was one of his strong points.

"I just wanted to talk to you for a minute," he said trying to sound as innocent as he possible.

There was a long pause before Beast Boy heard the clicking of Raven's lock. Upon realizing his success in acquiring an audience, Beast Boy quickly shuffled the mystery item behind his back and put on his most polite and well-meaning smile.

After undoing the lock, the door slid open and Raven, the Azerathian goddess herself stepped out of the sanctuary of her room. After setting eyes on the widely grinning Beast Boy she knew immediately he was up to something. Living together for so many years had given the empath a sort six sense that told her when the young man was plotting something. The rule of thumb was "if he looked innocent then he probably wasn't."

While Raven contemplated the shape shifter's ulterior motive, Beast Boy lost himself in Raven.

'She really is incredible.' He thought as he silently admired her. He had always thought she was attractive- in all honesty pretty much every female in the entire superhero profession was –but Raven's beauty had just grown exponentially since they were teenagers (They were now in their twenties). Add to that her unmatched bravery and determination, and Beast Boy found that in his eyes no one else could hold a candle to her. It's probably why he had fallen for her so hard.

Raven noted the silence between them with a bit of apprehension as Beast Boy continued grinning at her.

"Well, are you going to tell me what you want or are you just going to stand there smiling like an idiot all day?" She said abruptly, breaking Beast Boy out of his stupor.

"Oh, sorry." He chuckled, blushing slightly and rubbing the back of his head.

Raven rolled her eyes and sighed in response. She didn't know what she hated more; that he was so damned cute or that she actually _thought_ he was so damned cute.

"I was just wondering if you'd be interested in playing a game with me," he said as he flashed her his trademark toothy grin.

"Gar, how many times do I have to say this? I don't play videogames." So much for thinking he was up to something. Raven was about to retreat back into her room when Beast Boy hurriedly stopped her.

"No, no, it's not a videogame," he explained quickly.

"Then I don't want to play one of your gross, made-up games like Stankball either." She again attempted a retreat and again Beast Boy stopped her.

"It's not one of my made up games either," he said, really not wanting to lose her back to the solitude of her room. "It's a game you know actually."

Raven was once again suspicious, but the changeling had managed to peak her interest. She wondered what he could possibly be talking about.

As if on cue, Beast Boy dispensed from behind his back a long rectangular box with the words, "Classic Chess", printed across it in a simple font.

"Chess?" She said incredulously.

Beast Boy nodded.

"You play chess?" said Raven, arching her eyebrow skeptically.

"Sure, why not?" He replied matter-of-factly.

Raven really hated when he did this. He would spring something totally out of left field on her and then act as if it was basic knowledge. It was one of the many things that aggravated, yet also intrigued her about the young man.

"Come on, play a game with me," he asked, pleading ever so slightly.

For a moment, Raven contemplated what she may be getting herself into. She knew he had to have an angle, but she honestly didn't know what it could be. Another silence grew between them as Raven considered the offer.

Beast Boy could see his plans going up in smoke and was really considering straight up begging when Raven finally spoke.

"Are you sure you know the rules?" She asked in a serious tone.

"Raven, please. You got to give me a little more credit then that," he said in mock exasperation. "I wouldn't ask you to play a game if I didn't know the rules."

Giving him one more suspicious look over, she finally agreed to his offer.

"Alright. One game," she said, walking past him and down the hall towards the common room.

"Awesome," Beast Boy stated simply, grinning all that much more. "I got to warn you though, Rave, I'm pretty good."

Raven frowned slightly at the nickname and rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, I'll believe it when I see it," she replied bluntly.

Beast Boy only smiled.

* * *

The meeting room on the JLA watchtower was currently full as Earth's mightiest heroes gathered around the conference table to discuss a matter they had been putting off for some time.

Exuding confidence from every pore, the man of steal himself, Superman stood up from his chair and faced his fellow Justice Leaguers.

"I'm going to be frank," Earth's greatest hero said firmly. "I think it's time."

"I agree," said Wonder Woman standing along side Superman. "Not only have they shown remarkable character, but they have also been victorious time and time again against incredible odds."

"I'll vouch for that," chimed The Flash with a big grin on his face.

Green Lantern wasn't quite convinced.

"Aren't they maybe a little too inexperienced?"

"Perhaps," responded Superman. "But they at least deserve a chance."

The rest of the Leage nodded in agreement. Superman was more than pleased with his team's response as he very much wanted this to be a unanimous decision. However, one of his teammates had yet to speak.

"Well, Bruce?" Superman questioned, slightly dreading the answer.

"You already know what I think," replied The Dark Knight.

With that simple statement, he rose from his chair and calmly exited the room.

Superman sighed heavily at Batman's reaction although honestly it was exactly what he expected. Regardless it could not be helped, so without giving it another thought he returned his attention to the group.

"Then it's decided," he said proudly. "Now the next question is: Who wants to tell them?"


	2. Chapter 2

With a Tameranean tune in her heart, Starfire zipped merrily about the common room dusting, polishing and generally putting things in order. She was just about to begin cleaning the room's massive TV monitor when the swishing of doors caught her attention. Redirecting her gaze, she found the love of her life, Dick Grayson standing at the entrance of the common room wearing his usual hero attire.

Several years back, The Boy Wonder had gone through a sort of identity crisis and entered what would be a period of self-discovery. It was a very difficult time for the team as for several weeks he barely said a word to anyone, even Starfire. When he did speak it was direct and to the point and usually had to do with a mission. Despite all this, the team never gave up on him and eventually with help from his friends and Starfire's never ending support he was able to conquer his inner demons and as a result ended up a better hero and a better person. His Robin persona would then dropped in favor of a new one that reflected his new found identity. On that day, Nightwing was born.

Upon seeing her beaux enter the room, Starfire's face lit up.

"Good morning, my love," she said, immediately soaring over to him and wrapping him up in her deceptively strong arms. "I did not see you when I awoke. Did you have trouble sleeping?"

"No, Star, I slept fine," he replied with a charming smile. Truthfully he had barely slept at all the night before, opting instead to spend his time trying to figure out the location of a group of thugs who stole a shipment of high-tech weaponry. Of course, he didn't dare tell Starfire this, wanting not to upset her. She had spent far too long worrying over him during his identity crisis and the last thing he wanted to do was put her through something like that all over again.

"Wonderful," she exclaimed joyfully. "I was just engaging in the traditional Earth custom of Spring Cleaning. I never thought that manual labor could be so rewarding." With that, she soared back over to the TV and returned to her work.

Nightwing just smiled and shook his head. She really was one in a million.

There was another swishing of the common room doors followed by the entrance of Beast Boy and Raven; Raven appearing her usual stoic self and Beast Boy grinning like the cat that ate the canary as he carried the game box under his arm. Nightwing gave his usual morning greetings to which they responded in kind before continuing on their way. Beast Boy placed the box on the table in front of the sofa as Raven took her seat. He then quickly got a chair for himself and placed it on the opposite side.

"Why don't you set up while I go get us some drinks?" he said after setting the chair down.

Arching an eyebrow was Raven's only response.

"The game could take a while to finish," he reasoned. "Is ice tea okay?"

"Sure," she said, realizing that he was very much right.

Without another word, he hurried off to the kitchen to fetch the refreshments. Upon reaching the fridge he noticed Cyborg for the first time. The metal man was busying himself in front of the stove cooking what else, but a big pan of eggs, sausage, bacon and other breakfast meat products.

While the sight of cooking flesh still bothered Beast Boy to no end, he had long ago relented that there was no way to change Cyborg's eating habits. Cyborg felt a similar way about Beast Boy and so the two had agreed that while they didn't agree with the other's food choice they would at least respect it. Breakfasts sure were a whole lot quieter after that, much to Raven's delight.

So, ignoring his metal friend's meal, Beast Boy simply offered a kindly morning greeting as he opened the fridge and retrieved the bottle of ice tea.

"What's going on, B?" Cyborg replied.

"Not much. Me and Raven are just going to play a little game," said the changeling, offering a knowing smile.

Cyborg, knowing Beast Boy's motives, lowered his voice slightly.

"Are you sure you want to go through with this?" he asked. "You know what Raven can be like. There's a good chance you're taking you're life into your own hands here."

"I do that everyday," the changeling responded cheerfully.

"I guess so," said Cyborg, chuckling a little. "Just want you to know the risks is all."

"Cy, you as well as anyone one of us, should know that some things are worth the risk," replied Beast Boy, stealing a glance back at the girl sitting on the couch and smiling softly.

Cyborg, noticing his friend's expression, nodded his head in agreement.

"Alright, man. Good luck," he said, returning to his cooking.

"Thanks," said Beast Boy.

With a drink in each hand, he returned to Raven just as she finished laying out the final piece.

"There you are, mademoiselle. A glass of the finest ice tea," said Beast Boy in his best French accent, setting the drinks down on the table in front of her and giving a deep bow before looking up and smiling.

"Thanks," she responded flatly, clearly not enjoying the act quite as much as Beast Boy.

Undeterred, by her reaction, he took his seat.

"Alright," he said. "Who goes first?"

* * *

There was nothing. There was no land, no sky, no life. His prison was a black, empty void of which he was the only occupant. It had been only about ten years since he had been banished to this place, but to him every passing second felt like an eternity.

Closing his eyes, he imagined the face of his jailor. No doubt she had changed in all this time; grown into the woman she never had any right to be. He imagined her traitorous form and immediately felt his rage begin to grow. However, despite the anger brewing inside, just begging to be unleashed he kept his resolve. Long had past the time for childish screaming and thrashing at the unending darkness, cursing his tormentor's name. He needed to stay calm, gather his strength. Soon would be his time to escape this hell and make suffer all those who stood against him.

Raising his horned head and with his eyes glowing a ghastly and terrifying hellfire, his deep, menacing voice broke through the darkness.

"Soon, my daughter."


	3. Chapter 3

To Raven's surprise, Beast Boy was proving to be more adept at the game of chess than she would have ever given him credit for. He understood the rules and seemed to have a basic grasp of the purpose of planning several moves ahead. That wasn't to say he wasn't still obviously a beginner. Raven, on the other hand, had been playing for many years and demonstrated this by taking a rook, a bishop and several of his pawns in the early going of the game. All he managed to take from her so far being a few pawns. He was doing well, but he definitely wasn't the caliber she was used to playing against.

Still she had to admit she was enjoying herself. While she always considered Beast Boy a friend, she often wished there were more things the two of them could share in, other than the usual pizza or movie.

Sitting across from her, Beast Boy studied the pieces in front of him while he furrowed his brow in concentration. Without warning, he then cast his gaze up at Raven and smirked.

'Uh-oh,' Raven thought to herself. She wasn't sure if she liked his sudden change in demeanor.

"You know I just thought of something," he said, sitting up straight.

"You don't say," replied Raven, hiding her apprehension.

"We're having a pretty good game here, aren't we?"

"I suppose."

Beast Boy was really just a novice in her opinion, but things had been peaceful so far so she kept that bit of information to herself.

"And games are always more interesting when there's something at stake."

Raven couldn't believe what she was hearing. He couldn't be serious. Was he actually proposing a bet? She chuckled inwardly. He must really be full of himself if he thinks he's doing well enough bet something.

"Perhaps," she responded, smirking slightly.

"Well, what do you say to a little wager?"

Truthfully, Raven was not the betting kind, but she was somewhat interested in seeing what could possibly be gotten out of the changeling.

"What did you have in mind?"

Beast Boy leaned forward in his chair and clasped his hands together in front of him.

"Well, how about if you win I promise to let you have you're privacy for an entire month?"

Raven considered his proposal for a moment.

"You mean you won't come knocking on my door every five minutes?" she asked, arching an eyebrow. "Or ask me to listen to any of your new comedy routines?"

Beast Boy's only response was making a zipper motion across his mouth followed by pantomiming locking a lock and throwing away the key.

The idea appealed to Raven. Imagine all the reading she could get done with no Beast Boy around. For some reason, something in her gut cringed at the thought of "no Beast Boy" though she quickly dismissed it.

A thought then ocurred to her.

"So, what happens if you win?"

Beast Boy grinned mischievously for a minute before leaning back in his chair and rubbing the back of his neck.

"Oh I don't know," he said nonchalantly. "How about if I win... you have to give me one itsy-bitsy, teeny-weeny, little…kiss?"

'What?' Raven thought to herself.

"What?" She said in disbelief.

"Yeah," Beast Boy said confidently. "A Beast Boy free month for you if you win and a little kiss from Raven for me if I win."

Raven could feel her heart beating wildly against her chest as her stomach fluttered somewhere up into her lungs. A million thoughts raced furiously through her mind; most of them consiting of "He wants a KISS?"

"Well, what do you say?" He asked, reaching out a hand.

After much inner turmoil, Raven was able to get enough control over herself to make a rational decision. This was just another case of Beast Boy having too much confidence for his own good. There's no way he could possibly win and a gamble isn't really a gamble if you know you can win. Raven was sure of her victory in this game, so she accepted Beast Boy's out stretched hand in her own.

"Alright," she said with confidence. "You're on."

After shaking hands and sealing the deal, the game resumed and Beast Boy made his move. To Raven's shock, his move took her queen and put her in check.

Raven was thoroughly dumbfounded. What just happened?

"Check," said Beast Boy, who then gave her a little wink.

Blushing being her only response, she quickly buried her nose in the board. After recollecting herself, she began studying her pieces, contemplating all possibilities. She then made her move.

Breathing a sigh of relief, she looked back up at Beast Boy who scratched his chin for a moment before swiftly making his move.

"Check," he said once again with a wide grin.

This was only the beginning. Beast Boy seemingly transformed into a professional right before the empath's eyes and it didn't take her long to realize she had been duped. All those poor choices he made at the beginning of the game? Her taking several of his pieces right out from under him? It had all been part of a strategy. He had tricked her into thinking he was a mediocre player while simultaneously luring her into a trap that forced her for several turns to back peddle out of check while sacrificing several of her pieces.

Nevertheless, Raven was not a quitter. Giving her full attention to the task at hand, she battled back against Beast Boy's forces; doing everything she could to box the changeling into a corner.

While matching Beast Boy's moves, she did her best to kill the part of her that for some reason felt exhilarated at the thought of kissing the young man.

'Losing is not an option,' she kept telling herself. 'I don't want to have to kiss Beast Boy. I don't want to have to kiss Beast boy.'

Finally, after over an hour of playing, the duo's numbers were dwindling. The end was most assuredly near for one of them.

It was Raven's turn. Her eyes slowly covered every inch of the board as she plotted her course. Raising her hand, she wrapped her fingers around her only remaining rook.

"Oh, you sure you want to move that?" Beast Boy said suddenly.

Raven glared at the changeling.

"Stop it," she said coldly.

"What?" He replied innocently.

Raven placed her hand back in her lap and again studied the board. After a moment, she tentatively grasped her knight.

"Hmm. Moving that one, huh?" Beast Boy broke in again.

"Garfield!" She exclaimed.

"What?"

Yet again Raven studied the board. Making up her mind, she again reached for her rook. She threw a threatening glance at Beast Boy who just stared back at her, smiling. After a few final moments contemplating her available options, Raven decided her move. Unfortunately, this particular moment also happened to be when the Titan alarm decided to sound.

Beast Boy looked up at the red and white lights flashing around him.

"Aww come on!" He complained loudly.

Without missing a beat, Nightwing burst into the common room.

"Come on, you two. Trouble down town," he said quickly before dashing off.

Beast Boy and Raven looked at one another for a brief moment before following their leader. It seemed their bet would have to be settled later.


	4. Chapter 4

Dr. Light cackled with glee as he exited the bank holding two duffle bags full of cash.

"Thank you very much for your cooperation," he said wickedly as he briefly turned back to the terrified citizens still inside. "We'll have to do this again sometime."

The sound of sirens alerted the doctor to the police force's arrival. He turned just in time to see three cruisers pull up outside the bank in dramatic fashion. Two officers each exited the cars and took aim.

"Freeze! Don't move! Put you hands behind you head," were the cries he heard as the sound of hammers clicking into place filled the environment.

"Gentlemen, Gentlemen, please," said Light in mock sincerity. "You would dare threaten the life of a fellow human being? For shame. I think it's about time you…saw the light."

Upon finishing his speech, a sudden flash of ultra bright light emanated from the good doctor, filling the immediate area and blinding the police officers.

Doctor Light laughed in triumph as the helpless men and women stumbled about grasping at air and crying out for help. With another evil laugh, the doctor raised his hand, took aim and, with several light blasts, obliterated the cruisers.

"Fools!" He barked. "No one can stop Dr. Light."

"You can't be serious," said a voice from above.

Doctor Light craned his neck upward in surprise to see the Titans perched on the rooftop above him. Nightwing stood poised with a look of determination on his masked face while Cyborg and Beast Boy stood on either side of him. After flying the blinded officers to safety, Starfire and Raven then took their respective places along side the rest of the team.

"You people again?" Moaned Light. "Don't you ever take a vacation?"

"He's got a point, dude," said Beast Boy turning to Nightwing and getting only a look of disapproval in response.

"I'm just saying is all."

After leaping down from the rooftop, The Titans began closing in on Light.

"You will return what you stole," said Starfire, eyes glowing bright in anticipation.

"We can do this the easy way or the hard way," said Nightwing.

"Which also happens to be the fun way," added Cyborg while cracking his metallic knuckles. "So, by all means feel free to pick that one."

To The Titan's surprise, Doctor Light began laughing.

"Foolish Titans," he spat. "What makes you think I've come alone?"

Nightwing's senses suddenly went on full alert as he realized they had walked into an ambush.

"Titan's, look out," he yelled. The group leapt in all different directions as a sound blast came from above smashed into the ground, turning the pavement into rubble.

Recollecting themselves, the Titans heard a throaty cackle echoing throughout the environment.

"Sorry there, mates," said a raspy voice with a thick English accent. "You pulled the trigger of my love gun."

As the dust cleared The Titans looked up and were able to spot the hovering form of Punk Rocket and his super powered guitar.

"Great. You again," bemoaned Raven.

The punk laughed.

"That's not all, Sunshine. Don't you know? No great musician ever makes an appearance with out a little hired muscle."

Right on cue, the wall of a building directly below the floating punk was obliterated, revealing none other than the Titan's old standby villain: Cinderblock.

Nightwing looked around at the three criminals preparing themselves for combat and knew there was only one thing to say.

"Titans, go!"

Instantly the city block was filled with chaos as both sides paired up and began trading blows back and forth. Raven flew straight for Dr. Light as Nightwing and Starfire confronted Cinderblock, leaving Cyborg and Beast Boy to take on Punk Rocket.

Starfire rained star bolts down on Cinderblock's hulking form as Nightwing delivered several calculated strikes with his staff. The behemoth only shook these attacks off and after uprooting a lamppost began an assault of his own, attempting to smash Nightwing into oblivion.

With incredible grace and agility, Nightwing easily avoided every one of the giant's attacks. Starfire, seeing her love in trouble, flew head long at Cinderblock and began pummeling him with lefts and rights. Several cracks began appearing in the stone golem's face as the Tameranean pounded away.

Cinderblock seemed just about to go off his feet when he grabbed Starfire by her trim waist and callously threw her through the wall of a building, making sizable hole. With a murderous intent, the monster approached her still form only to be rocked in the back by several explosions. He turned around just in time to catch an explosion in the face, courtesy of Nightwing's exploding birdarang.

Enraged, Cinderblock charged the young man, intending to tear him to pieces. Nightwing again managed to avoid all of Cinderblocks strikes, but it was becoming apparent that nothing he did was causing any significant damage to the brute. Just then an idea came to him. Avoiding another strike, he back flipped several times over until he ended up alongside where Starfire was recollecting herself.

"Star, I have an idea, but you'll have to keep him busy. Can you do that?"

Starfire nodded in determination. Nightwing couldn't help letting a smile slip at the sight of her bravery.

"Alright," he said. "Now give me a boost."

Without another word, Starfire clutched Nightwing around the waist and effortlessly threw him high up into the air. She then resumed pummeling Cinderblock with star bolts.

Ignoring the energy blasts exploding against his body, Cinderblock charged at Starfire and brought his fists down upon her in a vicious double axe handle.

Starfire seeing the blow coming, raised her arms and crossed them over her head just in time to block the strike. However, Cinderblocks assault did not end there and as he raised his massive stone mitts and once again brought them crashing down on the red haired woman. Over and over again his fist's crashed down on Starfire. Each time she managed to block the attack, but with each blow she could feel that much more of her strength leave her. Eventually Cinderblock's strike was going to get through.

Fortunately for Starfire, the stone behemoth had forgotten all about Nightwing. Soaring down from the sky on his suit's built in glider wings he landed on top of Cinderblocks massive shoulders and shoved an explosive right into the giants gaping mouth.

Without wasting a second, the black clad hero flipped down to the ground, snatched a weakened Starfire in his arms and dashed to safety just as the explosion went off in the giant Cinderblock's mouth.

With smoke rising up through the corners of his smoldering jaw, the beast teetered slightly before falling to the ground in a heap.

"You okay, Star?" Nightwing asked after watching Cinderblock fall.

He was somewhat surprised when he suddenly felt the woman from Tameran's lips against his own.

"Always," she replied with a smile.

* * *

Punk Rocket soared through the air on his flying V guitar as Cyborg attempted to blast the be-pierced man with his sonic cannon. Every attack; however, met only air as Rocket effortlessly avoided shot after shot.

"You're going to have to do better then that, metal head, if you're going to stop me."

The punk's arrogant taunt was short lived as he failed to notice a green flying squirrel soar up to him and attach itself to his face. The mohawked man spat muffled curses as the squirrel sunk it's claws into his face, refusing to let go.

Seeing Rocket distracted, Cyborg once again took aim and fired his canon. Rocket pried the squirrel off his face and tossed him away just in time to see the blast coming. Too late to dodge, he snatched his guitar up in his hands and quickly struck a chord, sending out an energy blast that cancelled out the oncoming attack.

"Nice try, mate," he sneered. "But Punk Rocket don't go down so easy."

Gripping his guitar like a bat, the silver haired punk soared downward at an incredible speed.

"Here comes the pain." He shouted and struck Cyborg viciously in the head, disorienting him. The punk then landed on his feet and struck the biomechanical man with another blast from his guitar, knocking him onto his back.

A rumbling from behind him alerted Punk Rocket to a rhinoceros shifted Beast Boy charging the so-called musician with reckless abandon. Rocket effortlessly avoided Beast Boy's attack by simply taking off once more into the sky. Beast Boy however would not give up so easily.

Transforming into a humming bird, the changeling pursued the guitar-wielding villain. Once close enough, he became a massive gorilla and attacked Rocket with a mighty swing of his paw. Rocket narrowly avoided the attack before striking the changeling with a sound blast, sending him slamming into the ground.

Grinning wickedly, Punk Rocket descended to the ground.

"Is that all you got? How pathetic," he laughed, raising up into the air to make his escape.

"Hey, Rocket"

The punk turned just in time to narrowly dodge an attack from Cyborg's arm canon.

"Where you going?" The Titan shouted. "I didn't hear no bell."

Without another word, Cyborg charged Punk Rocket. Using his guitar as a shield was Rocket's only way to block Cyborg's assault as he leveled several lefts and rights against smaller man in short order. After dodging a punch, Punk Rocket finally managed to pluck a guitar string, forcing Cyborg back a few yards, but not knocking him off his feet.

"Give it up, mate," laughed the punk, raising his guitar over his head and striking a rock pose. "There's no stopping rock and roll."

Punk Rocket's arrogance would once again prove to be his undoing as Beast Boy in hawk form suddenly ripped the young man's guitar from his hands. Carrying the instrument in its talons, the green bird then dropped it into Cyborg's waiting hands.

"It's payback time, Rocket," said Cyborg, strapping on the guitar.

"Don't make me laugh, you stupid git. You don't even know how me guitar works."

Cyborg smiled confidently.

"I don't need no instructions to know how to rock,"(1) he shouted before striking a massive power chord. Unable to withstand the awesome power of his own weapon, the arrogant punk was knocked senseless and left lying on the ground, completely out cold.

"Thank you, ladies and gentlemen, and good night Jump City," shouted Beast Boy jumping up on Cyborg's shoulders and throwing up the metal horns.

* * *

The light beams collided uselessly against Raven's energy shields as Dr. Light continued to fire.

"Give up, Light," commanded the empath between attacks. "There's no way you can win."

Ignoring the mage completely, the doctor's light blasts continued.

Wanting to put an end to the fight, Raven encased a lightpost in dark energy and sent it hurdling towards the evil doctor. Drawing an energy sword, Light sliced the light post in two and charged.

Raven threw up energy field after energy field, blocking every one of the doctor's strikes. During his assault, Dr. Light seamlessly drew a second energy sword and intensified his attack.

Sensing herself getting overwhelmed, Raven flew backwards a few yards, giving herself some breathing room.

"Face it, girl," Light sneered as he began a slow march toward Raven. "There is no stopping me this time."

Ignoring the doctor's comments, Raven held out a hand and created a dome of black energy around Light's head. At first Light seemed unimpeded as he continued his march towards Raven, but after a few moments it suddenly became apparent to the doctor that it was getting harder to breath. The doctor's steps slowed and before he knew it he had passed out from lack of oxygen.

"Told you," smirked Raven.

* * *

After the action had died down, the police arrived and began locking the villains into restraints, preparing them for transport. After giving his final report and receiving the traditional "What would this city do with out you" speech from the police captain, Nightwing turned and faced his teammates.

"Nice job, everyone," he said proudly.

"Aw yeah," boomed Cyborg. "We came, we saw, we kicked their ass!"

As Raven rolled her eyes at Cyborg's outburst, Beast Boy slid up to her right.

"Hey, Rave, I saw how you schooled Dr. Light back there. That was really incredible," he said, giving her a wink.

Raven was glad that her hood was up because for some reason she was blushing madly.

"Uh, thanks," she replied nervously.

"You know when we get back to the tower we'll have to finish our game."

However, unbeknownst to Raven or any of the Titans, the danger was not quite over. As Doctor Light was about to be loaded into the police van, a spring-loaded energy knife snapped from his sleeve into his waiting hand. Without wasting a second he hurled the weapon in Raven's direction, hoping to take out the bothersome woman while she was distracted.

"RAVEN!" Beast Boy cried out upon seeing the weapon hurdling towards Raven's heart.

Being unable to react fast enough, Beast Boy feared the worst when suddenly a red and blue blur flashed before him and the next thing he knew Superman himself was standing amongst them, holding the light weapon firmly in his hand.

"I didn't want to interrupt you all while you were working, but I figured you wouldn't mind just this once," he said with a confident smile.

For a moment, the Titans could only look on in shock.

"You're…you're Superman," stuttered Cyborg finally.

"And you're Cyborg."

"Ahh! Superman knows my name," yelled Cyborg excitedly.

"What are you doing in Jump City, Superman?" asked Nightwing stepping forward.

"I have an offer for you," he replied with a smile.

* * *

_Author's Note: (1)A million cookie points to anyone who knows this quote_.


	5. Chapter 5

Before they knew it, the Titans found themselves aboard the JLA watchtower. Eyes wide as saucers, they looked about in awe at the technical splendor before them. The smooth, sleek architectural layout, the large windows filled with light-years of deep, starry space along with the sheer size of it all gave the Watchtower a sort of technological beauty.

"Oh man," gushed Cyborg, running up to one of the windows and pressing his face against the glass like a five-year-old eyeing a puppy. "We're on the Watchtower. We're actually on the Watchtower."

"Dude, this is awesome," exclaimed Beast Boy before turning to Cyborg. "How come you never built anything like this?"

Cyborg only grumbled something about "smartass, little, green punks" in response.

Nightwing, not being as easily impressed as his teammates, decided it was time to get down to business.

"So, why exactly did you bring us here, Superman?" he asked, making sure to sound respectful.

"You may not have been aware of this, but for a long time the Justice League has kept a close eye on all of you," he replied. "We've watched you grow from a group of bold, ambitious youngsters into a team of men and women the whole world can be proud of. You're dedication to truth and justice is exactly what makes for truly excellent heroes and you're commitment to one another combined with your ability to function as a cohesive unit is nothing short of amazing.

The Titan's listened to Superman's speech in quiet awe. Never, in their lives had they ever received such an endorsement.

"It is for these reasons that we've decided to invite you all to become full time members of the Justice League."

Cyborg's excitement was palpable. He could not believe that this was actually happening, that Superman himself was actually standing in front of him asking him to become a member of the most elite group of heroes on the entire planet.

"This is incredible," he bellowed excitedly.

"Glorious," smiled Starfire, clasping her hands together.

Beast Boy, grinning from ear to ear, threw an arm around Raven.

"This is it, Rave. The big time," he said while waving his hand in front of them in a dramatic fashion.

Raven blushed deeply and then knocked his arm off her shoulder.

Nightwing; however, did not share in his teammates excitement. This was due to one simple question that was gnawing at the back of his mind.

"Bruce is okay with this?" he asked suddenly.

Superman, obviously expecting the question, only paused for a moment before responding.

"Bruce isn't the only person whose opinion matters around here," the man of steel replied firmly. "Everyone has a say and it was decided that each of you deserves a place here."

Despite Superman's answer, Nightwing didn't feel any less uncomfortable.

Seeing this, Superman decided to try and ease the young man's mind somewhat.

"But I don't want any of you deciding yet. First I want to show you around and get you used to the idea of how things work up here."

The rest of the Titans, delighted at the idea of a grand tour of the famous JLA Watchtower, opted to do just that.

So for an hour or so, Superman brought them from floor to floor, showing them everything there was to see. This included the power generator, the combat simulator, the teleporters, their communications system and the barracks for over night stays aboard the tower.

Along the way, he offered to answer any and all questions they had. Cyborg had a great deal of technical questions that the man of steel assured J'onn or Mr. Terrific could answer for him later.

Starfire, excited at the prospect of new allies and a new environment zipped about like a bird, gazing in childlike wonder at all the Watchtower had to offer.

Beast Boy simply took in the tour, exclaiming a "dude" or a "cool" every now and then as he walked along side Raven who mostly remained silent, not really wishing to make a spectacle of herself.

Nightwing also remained almost entirely silent other than exchanging simple pleasantries whenever they would pass by a fellow hero. He knew that Superman was doing his best to make them feel welcome, but regardless he just could not relax.

Starfire sensing her boyfriend's distress began hovering along side him as he walked.

"Dick, what is wrong? She asked, worry shining in her eyes. "You seem upset."

"It's…nothing."

Starfire of course knew right away it wasn't nothing.

"It is not nothing," she insisted. "It is something. Please tell-"

Starfire was cut off when the Batman himself suddenly appeared.

Everything seemed to stop as the dark knight approached Superman, only stopping momentarily to throw a quick look at Nightwing.

"Clark, I need to speak with you," said Batman, his voice dripping with authority.

"I'm just about done here," replied Superman.

"Now," retorted the Bat plainly.

The Titans noted the tension in the air and responded only with quiet observation.

Superman frowning slightly at Batman's attitude decided to quickly wrap things up.

"So that's pretty much all there is to see. The cafeteria is right down the hall if you're hungry or you can feel free to take another look around for yourselves. When you feel you're all ready to make a decision come see me in the conference room."

With that, Superman made his exit, following Batman.

Cyborg, brushing off the hostility of a few seconds ago, was the first to speak.

"Well I don't know about ya'll, but I'm going to go get another look at that control room. I'll catch you guys later."

With that, he made his exit.

"Well I'm going to get me something to eat," announced Beast Boy. "Raven?"

Feeling that there were things that really needed discussing between the two of them (And because she had barely eaten anything all day), Raven decided to take Beast Boy up on his offer and followed him to the cafeteria.

This just left Starfire and Nightwing.

"So, you want to take a walk around the tower?" asked Nightwing politely, hoping to avoid their previously interrupted discussion.

Starfire only folded her arms.

"Perhaps later," she said. "Right now I wish to know what is bothering you. Why are you not happy that we were asked to join this Justice League?"

Nightwing, realizing the alien woman wasn't going to drop this, decided he had no choice but to be honest.

"It's not that," he began, looking down at the floor. "It's just I can tell Bruce…Batman isn't exactly ecstatic that I've been invited here."

"But why would he not be?" asked Starfire innocently. "You have often spoken highly of the Batman. Why would he not wish you be here?"

Nightwing took a moment before answering.

"Batman's always been a difficult man to understand. He's also very difficult to satisfy. As a result, things have been kind of strained between us in recent years and for whatever reason I'm not entirely sure he wants me here."

Even after so much time together, Stafire still had a hard time determining when exactly Nightwing needed her support and when he needed space. In this particular situation she guessed that the former was most appropriate. So, linking her arm in his and placing a soft kiss on his cheek, she led him down the hall, resting her head on his shoulder. When he didn't pull away, she figured she had guessed right.


	6. Chapter 6

"It's a mistake," said Batman plainly.

"So you've said," replied Superman.

Batman's eyes narrowed under his mask.

"One that we all may end up regretting."

Superman crossed his arms and rubbed the bridge of his nose with his thumb and index finger. Bruce was a dear friend, but sometimes he was just impossible to deal with.

"Bruce, we've been through all this. I don't care what's happened in the past. Each one of those men and women deserves a position here. You can't just pick and choose members based on who makes you uncomfortable."

"It's not a matter of comfort," the dark knight replied coldly.

"I'm not hearing this anymore. Face it Bruce, you were overruled.

Batman remained silent as Superman turned his back and made for the door.

"You know what I think is your real problem?" said the man of steel, looking over his shoulder. "You just can't stand the thought of having someone else in the tower who's a little too much like you."

With that final jab, Superman made his exit, leaving Batman to his silence.

* * *

The Watchtower's cafeteria turned out to be far better than Beast Boy could have hoped. Sure, the on duty chef looked at him like he had a three heads when the changeling asked if they offered any tofu dishes, but they still had a mile long salad bar of which he took full advantage.

Despite the various menu options, Raven opted for something simple and ordered a tuna fish sandwich and chips. For a drink, the empath was delighted to see they actually offered an herbal tea.

Lunch between the two was a rather quiet affair. Beast Boy attempted a few times to make small talk, but each time Raven offered little more than a few one syllable words in return. Regardless, the green skinned man never lost his grin. To him, just having a peaceful meal with Raven was heaven.

While Beast Boy was at peace, Raven felt just the opposite. All morning long, things had been different between her and Beast Boy and she desperately wanted to know why. His boldness in wanting a kiss for a prize during the chess game was only part of the mystery. The more Raven thought about it the more she realized just how much attention the changeling had been giving her. The way he kept smiling at her, kept winking at her. She also realized that this wasn't new. Thinking back, it dawned on her that this behavior had been going on for several weeks.

Raven's own feelings only further added to the chaos raging inside her mind. She didn't understand why she blushed every time he winked at her or why her heart raced every time he flashed her one of his patented million dollar smiles. Then again, maybe she did. Regardless, Raven knew that there were things the two of them needed to discuss.

"Beast Boy?" she said with the slightest hesitation.

"Yeah," he replied, smiling.

"There's something I need to talk to you about, and I need you to promise you'll be completely honest with me."

"Uh, sure," he replied, a little surprised by the request.

Taking a deep breath, Raven gathered her courage and asked the question that had been eating away at her all day.

"What's happening between us?"

Beast Boy was genuinely confused.

"I'm not sure I understand."

"Yes, you do."

Raven let a silence pass between them before speaking again.

"Beast Boy, why are you being so nice to me?"

"Raven, I'm your friend."

"I know, but there's more to it than that. Why are you always looking at me? Why are you always smiling so much around me? Why did you want to…kiss me?"

These weren't quite the circumstances Beast Boy had in mind for what he wanted to say next, but ultimately he decided it was either now or never.

"Isn't it obvious, Raven?" he said with a soft smile. "You make me want to do those things."

Raven gasped a little in her throat as she once again felt butterflies rising in her stomach. The butterflies became even more intense when the changeling reached across the table and placed his hand on hers.

"Raven. You've got to be the most amazing person I've ever met. All I really want to do is show how much you mean to me and how incredible I think you are."

Raven's heart was pounding so heard against her chest she was certain it was visible to anyone who cared to look. She had never heard Beast Boy speak with such sincerity. His words were so honest and kind she couldn't believe they were really for her. Still, there was confusion in her heart.

"Why are you telling me this? Why now?"

Beast Boy sighed and broke eye contact for the first time since they started talking.

"If there's one thing this profession has taught me, it's that tomorrow is uncertain. For any one of us, tomorrow may not even come. For that reason, I want you to know today how I feel about you, how I've always felt about you."

Raven couldn't begin to explain how she was feeling. She felt happy, scared, nervous, excited. It was as if a million different emotions were all dancing around inside of her at the exact same time.

"Garfield…"

Beast Boy raised a hand wishing to silence her.

"Raven, before you say anything I just want to ask you -and I want you to be as honest with me as I was with you- how do you feel about me?"

As she looked deeply into Beast Boy's beautiful emerald eyes, Raven found it almost impossible to speak. Her mind and her heart were in a state of utter confusion. She knew he deserved an answer, but she really didn't know what to say. After an agonizing silence, she finally spoke.

"I can't," she said, sadly bowing her head.

"Raven, please-"

"I'm sorry. I just…can't," she said again as tears began to well up in the corners of her eyes.

Slowly, Beast Boy pulled his hand away from hers.

"It's okay," he said. "You don't have to say anything right now. Just promise me that some day you'll have an answer for me."

Raven, still with her head bowed, nodded slowly before standing and exiting the cafeteria.

As Beast Boy watched her go, he couldn't help feeling as if a piece of him was going with her. He had put himself on the line in a way he never had before and he hoped beyond hope that some day soon it will have been worth it.

* * *

To anyone, running the most advanced global monitoring system in the entire world would seem like a daunting task. Fortunately, J'onn J'onzz wasn't just anybody. To the Martian Manhunter keeping track of hundreds of terabytes of of information was like a walk in the park.

"Superman, are you there?" said the martian, pressing a button on his headset.

"I'm here J'onn," crackled the headset in response.

"Have the Titans given you an answer yet?

"Not yet. I wanted to show them around first, give them an idea of what it's like being a part of the League."

A blip on J'onn's computer monitor caught his attention.

"Perhaps they would like a more hands on demonstration," he said while typing away at the keyboard. "I've just picked up a distress signal. There's been a massive jail break in Metropolis.


	7. Chapter 7

With her head hung low and guilt weighing heavily on her heart, Raven dragged herself through the halls of the Watchtower, replaying her conversation with Beast Boy over and over again in her mind. She felt terible for having left him sitting there alone, but she just couldn't face him anymore.

His words were so honest, so beautiful and she deeply wanted to return every last one of them. She wanted to tell him that she felt the same way, that she couldn't imagine life without him, that he held a special place in her heart and had for a long time, but something stopped her.

At first she had thought it was confusion, that she couldn't tell him what she felt for him because she honestly didn't know, but now that she had gotten away and had time to think, she realized that wasn't it at all. The reason she couldn't tell him how she felt, how much she cared for him was because she was afraid. She was afraid of herself; she was afraid of her past; she was afraid of opening herself up to him and she was afraid for what being too close to her might do to his safety. She was afraid and she wasn't sure she could ever find the courage to give him her answer, the answer they both wanted to hear.

The sound of an intercom crackling to life broke her out of her thoughts as Superman's voice suddenly filled the hall.

"Attention! Attention! Will the Titan's please report immediately to the bridge. I repeat, will the Titan's please report immediately to the bridge."

The urgency in Superman's voice was enough for Raven to force her current dilemma to the back of her mind as she phased up through the ceiling.

* * *

In a matter of minutes, the entire team had arrived and was greeted by a ready-to-go Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman and Flash. Raven couldn't help feeling another pang of guilt upon noticing Beast Boy seemingly trying to avoid eye contact with her.

"What's wrong?" asked Nightwing with urgency in his voice.

"Metropolis is in trouble," said Superman stepping forward. "A few minutes ago there was a massive uprising in the Super Powered Human Detention Center and several dangerous villains escaped."

"Don't they know that when you skip detention you only get into more troube?" asked Flash with a slight smirk.

"Dude, I was going to say that," complained Beast Boy.

"Sorry man, you can have the next one."

Ignoring the second rate comedy act, Superman continued.

"There's chaos on the streets and we need to get things under control before any more people get hurt. I know you're not officially part of the League yet, but we were hoping you'd lend us a hand."

"What kind of heroes would we be if we said no?" said Nightwing with a smirk.

Superman smiled in response.

"Alright, follow us down to the Javelin bay."

"Well alright!" exclaimed Cyborg, pumping his fist into the air. "We're going on a mission with the Justice League."

* * *

Minutes later, the Titan's found themselves rocketing back to Earth within the confines of the JLA Javelin.

"Get ready everyone," said Superman at the helm. "This won't take long."

Adjusting his headset, Superman punched a few digits into the keypad in front of him.

"Hello, can anyone hear me?

"Roger, who is this?" came a frazzled, desperate voice a few seconds later, accompanied by what sounded like a violent battle in the background.

"This is Superman and the Justice League. We're on our way to your location."

"Oh man, am I glad to hear from you guys. You gotta get down here, things are crazy."

"What can you tell me about the situation?"

"I don't know; it was weird. One minute everything was just fine and then one by one every inmate in the entire place just started going nuts. They don't even seem like they really know what there doing. They're just babbling like a bunch of mental patients.

The occupants of the ship looked at one another for a moment, pondering the possibilities.

"Just hang on and try to stay safe," said Superman. "We'll be there soon."

"Please hurry, sir."

With that, the line went silent.

Wonder Woman was the first to speak.

"What do you think, Superman?"

"I don't know," he replied. "But let's not waste any more time."

Pressing hard on the throttle, the Javelin increased speed as it closed in on its final destination.

* * *

On approach to ground zero it was obvious to the team that the situation was as bad as it sounded. There were small fires scattered around the city and several costumed villains could be seen causing wanton destruction. What was strange was there didn't seem to be any rhyme or reason. One would think that if an inmate had just broken out of prison their first goal would be getting as far away as possible while keeping a low profile. All the escapees; however, seemed only intent on destroying everything and everyone in their path. Something was amiss.

After landing on an accommodating rooftop, the group quickly exited with Superman taking command.

"Flash, start clearing the streets of civilians and make sure any wounded get medical attention."

"I'm on it," replied the speedster, dashing away in the blink of an eye.

"The rest of you, seek out and subdue."

In an instant, the heroes were off.

* * *

Gorilla Grodd stomped furiously about the streets. Anyone who dared to cross his path paid dearly.

"Filthy disgusting humans," he growled. "I'll rip them all to pieces with my bare paws."

"Yo, Kong, called a voice from behind him.

The super-intelligent gorilla turned around only to be leveled by a titanic punch courtesy of Cyborg's bionic fist. The ape was knocked to the ground, but wasted no time in pulling himself back up to his feet.

"Damned homosapien. You and you're kind will be wiped from this earth," he spat through his teeth as saliva dripped from the corners of his mouth.

With surprising quickness, Grodd leapt at the bionic man, swinging his mighty paws with reckless abandon as Cyborg did his best to dodge or block every attack.

Finally, Grodd snatched Cyborg's head in his massive ape hands and began assaulting the Titan's brain with telepathic mind blasts.

Cyborg gritted his teeth as Grodd ravaged the inside of the poor man's head, taking glee while he did so.

"Feel the pain, human. My psychic blasts won't stop until there is nothing left of your pitiful mind but a sticky pool."

At that comment, Cyborg managed a small smirk.

"I guess this is probably more debilitating to someone whose mind isn't half robotic, huh?"

Grodd then realized far too late that Cyborg's sonic canon was pointed directly at his gut.

"Bad monkey," Cyborg smirked, firing the weapon. Instantly, Grodd rocketed back several yards into a brick wall and crumbled unconscious to the ground.

"Next," proclaimed Cyborg, dusting himself off.

* * *

Volcana, screaming like a banshee, launched a massive fireball, setting fire to yet another building.

"They wanted to use me, she wailed. "They stole my past, my life. They didn't care! All they wanted was a weapon.

As she ranted to the air, she readied yet another enormous fireball.

"Well, they want a weapon, they got it," she screamed. "The entire world will burn!"

A rustling sound caught the enraged pyromancer's attention. Turning, she spotted a young boy and girl in an alleyway, lost and scared. A deep hatred shot through the wild-haired woman and she was immediately consumed with the desire to kill. Fortunately for the children, Volcana failed to notice a fast approaching Starfire who, with a righteous yell, clobbered the villain with a massive right cross, sending her flying through a store window.

Right on cue, Flash appeared on the scene. Starfire pointed out the children, and the speedster immediately scooped them up into his arms.

"Come on, you two, let's find your parents," he said before speeding off.

As Starfire watched him go, she was suddenly alerted to the sound of glass crushing underfoot. To the Tameranian's shock, Volcana had managed to pull herself back to her feet.

"Please stay down," warned Starfire. "I do not wish to harm you anymore than is necessary."

Volcana would hear none of Starfire's warnings and instead began launching fireblasts at the orange skinned woman, screaming with rage.

Starfire soared gracefully through the air, avoiding every attack before quickly switching directions and heading straight for the fire-starter.

"I am sorry for this," she said and then leveled the woman with another devastating punch, this time knocking her out for good.

Starfire's eyes were transfixed on the unconscious Volcana, ensuring she was down for the count when the noise of combat filled her ears.

She turned to see Wonder Woman come spilling out of an alleyway, grappling with Cheetah, who was snarling and clawing at the Amazon in a way that was very much akin to her namesake.

With speed and grace befitting a woman of her pedigree, Wonder Woman gripped the animalistic woman by the wrists and catapulted her into a wall, knocking her out cold.

"You are injured?" asked Starfire, approaching the Amazon and observing the scratches on her arms.

"I'll be fine," responded Wonder Woman.

Turning away, Starfire took in the forms of the unconscious villains around her.

"I do not understand. These people seem to be motivated by nothing, but the desire for destruction. Is this normal for these individuals?"

"No," replied Wonder Woman adjusting her bracelets. "Something is definitely wrong."

* * *

Raven hovered above the city, taking in the chaos around her. Ever since they had arrived, she had sensed an immutable rage emanating from the city blocks and every escaped villain seemed to be contributing to it. Raven knew of human anger, human evil, but this was far different. There was something deeply unnatural about the ferocity she was sensing from these people.

Closing her eyes, she attempted to identify a possible source for the hate. After a few seconds, a sudden emotional flux caught her attention and without hesitation she pursued. Flying over the city, she zeroed in on the flux, hoping to find the source of this inhuman rage. What she found surprised her. Her acute senses had led her to the hulking giant that was Solomon Grundy.

From what Raven understood about Grundy, he was a simple creature motivated by simple greed. She therefore was confused as to why the unyielding fury she was sensing seemed to be emanating from him. Nevertheless, if he was the source of this madness, she intended to stop him.

"Solomon Grundy, born on a Monday," she said coldly as she landed a few yards behind the beast. "Tell me, what do you know about what's going on here?

Slowly and quite uncharacteristically, Grundy turned and faced Raven, giving her a deep and menacing stare.

"Raven," he said hauntingly.

The voice was Grundy's, but Raven sensed there was something else there, something not his own. Suddenly the empath was filled with a horribly familiar presence that terrified her and brought her to her knees.

"No," she gasped.

"Yes, my dear daughter," growled Grundy. "I've come home."


	8. Chapter 8

"This isn't real," croaked Raven as tears slid down her cheeks. "It's impossible," she screamed.

This was the culmination of all Raven's fears and regrets; the source of her darkest nightmares that woke her in the middle of the night, sweat soaked and crying, and silently praying for the images in her head to return to the abyss from whence they came. Now the nightmares had come true. Trigon the Terrible had returned.

"My dear daughter," cooed Trigon in Solomon Grundy's voice. "You of all people should know that you couldn't possibly keep me in exile forever."

Too scared and in shock to move, Raven simply sat, knees to the ground, staring in disbelief at the possessed giant in front of her.

"I have been waiting a long time for this," said the monster, beginning to slowly close the gap between him and Raven. "For the moment when I could properly repay you." Clenching his massive fists and fixing his eyes on Raven's, a murderous rage overcame the beast. "For your betrayal!

The ground shook as Trigon charged the still kneeling Raven, anger burning in his eyes.

Raven did nothing. All feeling left her as she watched the demonic monster charge. Her body refusing to move as she did little more than stare blankly at her immanent death as it closed in.

The beast had raised his hands over his head with full intent to smash her into the pavement when Raven suddenly felt herself being lifted up into the air. Looking up she realized she was in the talons of a green Pterodactyl who quickly brought her to the rooftop of the nearest skyscraper and gently set her down. The dinosaur then immediately shifted back into Beast Boy while Raven resumed her blank staring.

"Raven, are you okay?" asked Beast Boy, full of worry. When all he got was an empty gaze in return, he felt the fear in his heart increase. "Raven, what's wrong?" he said, gripping her by the shoulders. "Raven, talk to me. Please!

A massive thump shook the rooftop and to Beast Boy's dismay, he turned to see the massive Grundy standing a few yards away. The beast charged at a surprising speed, leaving very little time to react. Quickly Beast Boy put himself between Raven and the monster and prepared for impact.

As luck would have it, though, the impact never came. Instead there was a flash of red and blue and before he knew it, Beast Boy watched the gigantic Grundy go flying from the rooftop to the streets below. Relief washed over him as he looked up to see Superman hovering overhead.

"Grundy can be quite a handful," said the man of steel with a small smirk. "Would you mind if I…?"

"Not at all, dude," replied Beast Boy with a thankful smile.

With that, Superman followed Grundy to the street and Beast Boy returned his attention to Raven.

"Raven, it's me, Beast Boy," he said calmly. "Can you hear me?" After again getting nothing, he placed a hand gently on her chin and raised her head so that their eyes met. "Raven?"

Gazing into his emerald eyes, Raven suddenly felt the world come back to her as her mind began working overtime, a thousand different thoughts racing through her head at once. Finally, realization hit her and she knew what she had to do.

"I need to go," she said suddenly.

"What?" replied a confused Beast Boy.

"I need to find out something."

"Raven-"

"I'm sorry."

Before Beast Boy could say another word, Raven was enveloped by dark energy and ported away.

A sadness filled Beast Boy's heart. It had been a long time since he had seen Raven this way. He had hoped she had learned to trust her teammates to help her, but still she seemed intent on leaving them in the dark on certain things.

A deep booming voice filled Beast Boy's ears, and he was shaken out of his thoughts.

"Where is she?" demanded the voice.

Beast Boy turned to see Batman arriving on the rooftop.

"Where did she go?" he said harshly as he made his approach.

"I don't know," replied Beast Boy, a little surprised at the sudden interrogation. "She just said she needed to find out something."

Batman narrowed his eyes at Beast Boy for a moment and then walked past him to the edge of the roof, jumping off when he got there.

"And I used to think Raven was scary," said Beast Boy, attempting to slow his heartbeat.

* * *

Grundy back peddled as Superman leveled him with Earth shattering lefts and rights before sending the giant spinning to the ground with a double axe handle, delivered swiftly to the cheek.

As the battle raged, Batman descended from the roof followed closely by Beast Boy.

"So, can Superman take this guy?" asked Beast Boy tentatively.

"He should," replied Gotham's Knight stoically.

"Well that's good, I guess," the changeling said, watching the battle.

A few yards away, the monster was far from out. Quickly rising to his feet, Grundy snatched up an idle car in his massive hands and sent it hurdling towards Superman. With no difficulty at all, Superman caught the vehicle only to be knocked momentarily senseless as Grundy's fist suddenly tore through the body, striking the man of steel in between the eyes.

Without wasting a second, the pale behemoth bent down and grabbed Superman by his ankles. Holding Metropolis' favorite son like a baseball bat, Grundy repeatedly slammed Superman into the pavement.

Superman was motionless when Grundy released his hold. Sensing victory, Grundy snatched Superman up by the cape and lifted him up to eye level as a malevolent grin crossed his face.

His joy would be short lived; however, as Superman suddenly snapped to life, grabbing the beast by his ears and delivering a head butt to its face.

Grundy was rocked. He attempted another attack, but his punch was easily blocked. Superman delivered another devastating punch and sent beast stumbling back several feet.

"Give it up Grundy," said Superman firmly. "You know you can't beat me."

"You are quite right, Superman," replied the brute.

Superman's widened his eyes in surprise. Since when did Grundy speak so eloquently?

"You're strength, Kryptonian, is just as great as your feeble minded enemies believe it to be," continued Grundy. "You are truly the one I have been looking for."

With blinding speed, Grundy grabbed a confused Superman by the throat and quickly placed a massive palm on his forehead. Earth's greatest hero screamed in agony as pain surged through his entire body like lightning.

* * *

Beast Boy and Batman looked on as Grundy took hold of Superman. They could only watch as Superman screamed in pain and a mysterious red energy suddenly enveloped the two superpowers.

"What's happening?" asked Beast Boy in confusion.

Batman offered no response, never liking to have to admit to not knowing something. Instead he simply looked on.

Almost as soon as the energy appeared, it quickly dissipated. To further add to the confusion, Grundy appeared exhausted while Superman seemed unharmed.

Beast Boy and Batman watched as Superman then delivered a vicious uppercut to Grundy, sending him crashing to the ground where he remained motionless.

"He got him," exclaimed Beast Boy happily. "Way to go, big S," he called.

Superman offered no reply and simply stood where he was.

Cautiously, Batman approached.

"Superman, are you alright?

An uneasy silence passed between the two.

"This power is quite impressive for a mortal," said Superman, his voice uncharacteristically wicked.

Batman readied himself. This was not Superman.

"Who are you?" Demanded Batman, expertly hiding his dread.

With his eyes glowing an evil red, Superman slowly faced the dark knight.

"I am your end."


	9. Chapter 9

With a sudden flash of dark energy, Raven arrived back within the confines of her room. Wasting no time, she hurried to her shelves and began snatching up bottles of various potions and ingredients. After marking out some Azerathean symbols on her bedroom floor and preparing a mysterious concoction, she was ready.

Hovering a foot off the ground in the lotus position, she centered her mind and deeply inhaled the incense rising from the concoction. Slowly, methodically, she began reciting her mantra.

"Azerath Metrion Zinthos."

Gradually, she felt the burdens of the world disappear as her ethereal form left her body and began drifting amidst the sea of reality. Countless dimensions and realities each containing billions of life forms passed by in the blink of an eye, and in no time Raven found herself at her destination. In front of her, floating in a sea of light, lay a shimmering portal. Behind it, a dimension of endless black and nothingness, devoid of any life. Save for one. One Raven prayed was still there.

Readying herself she crossed the threshold into the void. Casting her eyes about the environment or lack thereof, she soon spotted a tiny spec in the black. Flying full speed, the object soon began to take shape until hovering before her, in the lotus position with his four eyes closed and his head down turned, was the demon, Trigon.

The demon had changed somewhat since the last time Raven had seen him. Not the hulking giant he had once been, Trigon had substantially decreased in size, both in height and muscle mass, yet this did nothing to take away his ferocity. He was indeed smaller, but no less terrifying.

Raven was overcome with both relief and confusion. She had distinctly sensed Trigon's presence emanating from Solomon Grundy back in Metropolis, yet here he was right in front of her.

"Trigon," she spoke after gathering some courage.

Trigon said nothing.

"Father," she said, a little louder than before.

Again the demon king remained silent.

As Raven studied her father's form, realization hit her. Slowly she reached out a hand to the motionless demon, but stopped just before making contact. Preparing herself for the worst, she thrust forward and penetrated the monster's skull with her intangible fingertips. Other worldly energy coursing through her, her soul screamed as hundreds of images flashed before her eyes.

* * *

His reflexes were so sharp and fast, it was very difficult to believe he was only a man. The few people that really knew him knew that this almost inhuman speed and agility was gained slowly over a relative lifetime, and honed through incredible amounts of practice, and unwavering dedication. The reason for this being that the life he was preparing himself for was one in which he couldn't afford to make mistakes, and if he did, he wanted to be fast enough to make up for them. Approaching Superman despite his gut instincts warning danger was his mistake; when the possessed Kryptonian attempted to burn a hole in him with a deadly blast from his heat vision, the reflexes he dedicated his life to developing allowed him to make up for it. The next couple shots he avoided were just luck.

"Hmm, amusing," smirked the Trigon possessed Superman at Batman's acrobatics display.

Batman readied himself for another attack, but it never came. Instead Trigon paused for a brief moment, as if in deep thought before he simply lifted into the air, up to the skyline, and sped off faster than a speeding bullet.

Batman narrowed his eyes as he watched the Kryptonian go while Beast Boy just stared in disbelief.

"Dude, what just happened?" exclaimed the changeling.

Batman offered no answer, and instead pressed a switch on his utility belt while putting his hand to his ear, activating his headset.

"J'onn, I need a lock on Superman's transmitter. Tell me where he's going."

Despite Batman ignoring him, Beast Boy's sensitive ears were able to clearly pick up the conversation.

"Why? What happened?" came the martian on the other end.

"Things have just gone critical. Something's wrong and I need to know where Superman is.

There was a brief silence.

"It would seem Superman is leaving Metropolis and heading west.

"What's west of Metropolis?" asked Beast Boy.

Batman pulled out a remote from his utility belt and pressed a button.

"Star Labs," he said bluntly. "J'onn, thing's have changed. Superman needs to be stopped. Tell Dianna and Flash to meet me at Star Labs. Send the coordinates to the Tameranean and also try to get in contact with Lantern."

Suddenly Beast Boy became aware of a fast approaching roaring noise. Looking up he saw the Batplane race though the air, stop overhead and come in for a landing.

Batman quickly leapt into the driver's seat as Beast Boy watched in amazement.

"Come on if you're coming," said the dark knight sternly.

Not wasting another second, Beast Boy quickly hopped into the passenger seat.

* * *

Despite their expeditious arrival, it was obvious Superman had gotten there long before them. The entrance to the secret laboratory in the middle of the rural lands west of Metropolis had been ravaged, leaving just a huge, gaping hole.

As the Batplane set down, the duo of Batman and Beast Boy noticed the arrival of Flash and Wonder Woman. After they exited the plane, a Nightwing carrying Starfire joined them.

"Yo Bats, what's the scoop?" called Flash.

"J'onn said you didn't give him any details," added Wonder Woman.

"Something has gotten control of Superman," replied Batman.

"Something not good," added Beast Boy.

Collective looks of concern filled the group.

"So that means…?" began Starfire.

"We need to take him down as fast as possible," finished Nightwing.

The group gave a solemn nod and took off running for the entrance to the labs.

As Batman ran, Nightwing pulled up along side him.

"You shouldn't have come," said Batman suddenly.

"What?" replied Nightwing confused.

"You would have been of more help rounding up the rest of the escapees back in Metropolis."

"Well, excuse me for thinking you needed help," shot Nightwing bitterly.

Batman said not another word, and instead quickened his steps.

Starfire, having overheard the conversation between the two men frowned at Batman's back as he dashed away. It appeared Nightwing was right about Batman not wanting him in the Justice League.

* * *

As the heroes went deeper into the lab, things became more and more grim. The bodies of Star Lab scientists lay strung about every room. Interestingly enough, for the most part all of them seemed to still be alive, though they were definitely in desperate need of medical attention.

Then they found him. Harshly gripping a scientist by the throat and with a look of pure malice on his face, the evil infused Superman placed a hand on the poor man's head. There was a flash of red energy, which seemed to render the man unconscious, and then he was haphazardly tossed clear across the room.

"So it's true," Trigon snarled in Superman's voice. "This planet doesn't have the proper technology."

"Stop right there," demanded Wonder Woman as the group burst through the entrance.

"Supes, can you hear me in there?" called Flash.

"You insects would be wise to not get in my way, lest you want you're deaths to be slow and painful," growled the Trigon.

"You will release Superman immediately," demanded Starfire.

The monster's wicked laughter filled the room.

Not wanting to waste another second, Starfire and Wonder Woman flew straight for the cackling Kryptonian. However, before either one of them could land a punch they were snatched up by the throat. Trigon effortlessly tossed Wonder Woman clear across the room and then leveled his gaze at Starfire.

"The Tameranean," he growled.

"Let her go," demanded Beast Boy quickly morphing into a rampaging elephant and charging with abandon.

This proved to be a mistake, as the demon simply outstretched a hand, and upon impact, Beast Boy felt as though he had just run headlong into a six-inch thick, steel wall.

"The green clown," laughed the demon wickedly.

"He knows them," whispered Batman to himself as he watched the display.

Tossing Starfire away, the Kryptonain monster turned his attention to Beast Boy. Intending to end the changeling's life he raised a foot only to be interrupted by a sudden barrage of red fists.

"Knock, knock. Anybody home?" mocked the Flash as he circled the Trigon, pummeling him repeatedly.

The Flash's attack; however, would not last long as the monster simply stuck out an arm, cloths lining the speedster and sending him crashing to the ground.

An exploding birdarang suddenly caught the demon in the face, though it had no effect. Redirecting his gaze, he spotted Nightwing readying another. After throwing the weapon, Nightwing's eyes widened in surprise as the Kryptonian effortlessly caught it and sent it hurdling back at him at blinding speed. Nightwing was barely able to get out of immediate danger and was sent flying from the force of the blast.

This left just Batman who made no move to escape nor did he say a word. He instead simply bored holes in the possessed Kryptonian with his intense gaze.

"You don't seem to understand," smirked Trigon as he approached the dark knight. "You are just as much insects to him as he is to me."

As fast as he could, Batman went for a pocket on his utility belt only to have his arm suddenly twisted behind his back and his body forced up against the wall by the demonic possessor.

"I was stopped once before by pitiful specs like you," sneered the beast. "It will not happen again. "I will enter this dimension and you will know me as your ruler."

"Trigon," Batman whispered in agony.

Trigon smirked.

"It seems my reputation precedes me."

Without another word, the demon viciously slammed Batman's head against the wall, knocking him senseless.

The beast's eyes began glowing as he readied a heat blast when suddenly a revived Wonder Woman and Starfire grasped him around the throat and arms and a giant squid shifted Beast Boy wrapped him up tight in his tentacles.

The possessed Kryptonian roared in anger as he flailed about struggling to free himself.

Nightwing, recovering from the blast, ran to Batman's side.

"Batman? Batman, are you okay?"

Batman only moaned in response.

Upon inspecting his body for injuries, Nightwing suddenly noticed a glow emanating from an open compartment on Batman's utility belt. Closer inspection revealed just the weapon they needed.

The enraged Kryptonian shook violently, but the heroes held tight. However, it was becoming more apparent with each passing second that they could not hold him for much longer. Starfire's grip was ready to slip when suddenly the monster stopped struggling. Looking over his titanic shoulder, the Tameranean spotted Nightwing, and in his hand a glowing chunk of kryptonite.

With each passing second, the Kryptonian beast grew weaker as the radiation tore through his body, robbing him of his strength, and eventually rendering him unconscious on the floor.

As the group collectively caught their breath they looked about the room at one another.

"So what now?" asked Flash.

"We need to get him back to the watchtower," commanded Wonder Woman.

* * *

Keeping the piece of kryptonite in close range to Superman, the group finally managed to get everyone back to the watchtower. Unfortunately there were no cells they were capable of holding Superman, so they were forced to simply keep the kryptonite piece in close proximity to him in a normal holding cell with Green Lantern keeping guard. This solution; however, could only be temporary. The longer the kryptonite stayed focused on him the more the risk for permanent damage became. They needed to figure a way to get whatever was inside Superman out.

Meanwhile, Batman was quickly rushed to the medical wing and treated for a dislocated shoulder and a mild concussion.

"Oh man, some first day," said Cyborg remarked Cyborg to the rest of the team as they gathereed around an unconscious Batman in his hospital bed.

"Time is running out," said Wonder Woman firmly. "We need to find a way to help Superman."

"Yeah, just one problem," said Flash. "We have no idea what we're up against."

"I do," came a voice.

The group turned to suddenly find Raven standing in the doorway.

"Raven," exclaimed Beast Boy with relief.

"Raven, we did not know what happened to you," added Starfire. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," answered Raven softly. "I know who's responsible for this."

The group perked up and gave Raven their full attention.

"It's…" she began hesitantly. "It's…"

"Trigon," finished Batman, groggily but firmly.

Raven and the rest of the group gasped at Batman's intuitiveness as he struggled to sit up in his bed.

"Bruce, are you okay?" asked Nightwing.

"It was a mistake," muttered Batman.

"What?" replied Nightwing in confusion.

"I told Kent it was a mistake. Letting all of you join when it was obvious not all of you deserve a place here. And now look what's happened."

Starfire felt anger flare up inside her. Now the dark knight had gone too far.

"You will stop right this instant," she demanded angrily. "If it had not been for Dick you would not even be alive. How dare you claim he is undeserving."

"Who said I was talking about him?" said Batman plainly.

The group watched as Batman then leveled an accusing stare at Raven.


	10. Chapter 10

_Author's Note: Hey everybody. I'm going to start taking a little bit longer updating each chapter. I want to make sure I've got everything sounding exacly right._

The demon, Trigon sat trapped inside the jail cell, pain throbbing throughout his body from the kryptonite resting on the table a mere few feet away. He had determined that choosing the Kryptonian as his host had not been a mistake -he was by far the most powerful being on the planet- but rather he had simply gotten arrogant in a time that did not allow it. An initial probe of Superman's mind had alerted him to the material known as kryptonite, but the awesome strength and speed of the host body caused him to severely underestimate its effectiveness. It was unlike anything the demon had ever experience in all his years. Remaining conscious was a constant battle, and when he was awake, the pain and fatigue he felt was indescribable. Nevertheless escape was inevitable for him. These humans would not hold him for much longer.

The demon slowly raised Superman's head and stared intently at the green and black clad Green Lantern standing guard outside the door.

"Tell me human," the beast said suddenly. "What makes you think you can keep me locked up in here forever?"

Green Lantern had looked after a fair share of prisoners in his life and knew when one was just trying to get under his skin.

"Keep running your mouth, pal," he replied dryly. "You're entertaining nobody but yourself."

The demonic Kryptonian smirked at this and lowered his head as a string of words began to silently seep from his lips.

* * *

Raven couldn't understand how this had happened. She had returned to the Watchtower intent on sharing the information she'd uncovered with her fellow crime fighters only to suddenly find herself on trial with Batman helming the prosecution.

"You want to run that by me again?" said Cyborg incredulously.

"I said she's a liability and a threat," repeated Batman plainly as he swung his legs over the side of his hospital bed and pulled himself into a standing position. "She was to the Titan's just like I knew she'd be to the League."

"Bats, don't you think you're over reacting a little bit?" Said Flash, coming to Raven's defense.

Batman leveled a cold gaze at the speedster, assuring him he was quite certain of his accusation.

"How dare you," shouted Starfire, her eyes flashing with anger. "You know not of which you speak."

"Oh?" reputed Batman. "I know that she revealed almost nothing about herself until nearly a year after she had been working with the Titans. Important information that was necessary to the team's safety and prosperity was kept secret, such as her inability to fully control and even understand her powers. Other such vital information about her past was only ever revealed after the team had already been exposed to significant amounts of danger, such being the case regarding her lineage."

The last comment struck Raven directly at her core. Batman had known about Trigon before she had the chance to tell the others and now it was obvious that he knew much more than the demon's name. But how?

"Wait, how do you know about that, about everything for that matter?" Asked Cyborg, voicing Raven's thoughts.

When Batman offered no immediate response, Cyborg pressed onward, harder this time.

"How do you know?" He demanded louder than before as he took a step forward.

"Because I told him," replied Nightwing, stepping in front of Cyborg.

The room went silent.

"What?" Squeaked Starfire.

"He knows because I told him," repeated Nightwing as he looked into Starfire's disbelieving eyes. "After the Titan's formed, he asked that I report back to him on all of you and what you could do."

Taking a breath, Nightwing averted his gaze to the right.

"He also asked that I report back on all our missions."

"You were spying on us?" The Tameranean asked sadly, casting her gaze down.

"No, no," insisted Nightwing. "Not exactly. He was my mentor. I just…thought he deserved to know."

"And it was very interesting to learn that several years back, for a few hours I along with everyone else on the planet was dead," interrupted Batman.

Another thick silence filled the room.

"And the outcome of that day, what happened to Trigon, what Raven did with or to him was never fully explained. It became just another one of her secrets," Continued Batman. "Of course now that we're all once again in over our heads, she's probably going to enlighten us."

Batman fixed Raven with an icy glare and she immediately felt herself go numb. There were so many things she wanted to do and say right now; however, none of them would be beneficial to the team's current situation, so composing herself, she began to explain to everyone exactly what she had learned.

Before she began; however, she for a moment regarded Beast Boy, who had been strangely quiet the entire time. If there was one person whose opinion she held highest at this point, it was his. His silence was deafening to her and she dreaded that Batman's words had possibly rung any sort of truth with him.

"Several years back, my father, Trigon attempted to conquer this dimension by using my body as a portal to spread his influence. He nearly succeeded, but with the Titan's help I was able to seal him away in an empty dimension devoid of any life."

"How?" Demanded Batman sharply.

"Trigon can literally be said to be a product of his environment. The pain and anger and destruction of his surroundings give him his power. After becoming the portal I was infused with a great deal of this power as well, so I used it to weaken him and lock him away where he had nothing to feed him, the idea being that eventually he would grow so weak he would just fade into nonexistence."

"So how did he escape?" Asked Cyborg.

"He hasn't exactly," continued Raven. "When I sensed him in Metropolis, I returned to the void to confirm my suspicions. I found his body still there but his consciousness was gone. Somehow he's willed his mind into this dimension."

"Great, a body jumper," groaned Flash. "I hate those."

"That's not all. When I examined his body I found he'd left behind a remnant of his consciousness. From it, I learned of his intentions. Until he can find a way to bring his body through to our world, his full power will never be realized. There's nothing magic can do for him, so he plans to use our technology."

"That's why he went to Star Labs," concluded Wonder Woman.

"Why didn't you tell anyone about how you imprisoned him," asked Batman suddenly.

"I didn't-"

"Just more necessary information no one needs to know?"

"Bats, calm down," said Flash.

"Did you ever consider this outcome to be possible?" Continued Batman. "Could this have been prevented?"

"You will stop," broke in Starfire.

"ENOUGH," commanded Wonder Woman, bringing silence to the room. "What's done is done. Right now we need to find a way to help Superman."

"That's what I was getting to," said Raven calmly. "When I learned of Trigon's plan I began searching through my books for something that could help. I found a spell used for removing unwanted spirits and returning them to their point of origin, what you might call an exorcism. Trigon is no ordinary spirit so there's no guarantee it will work, but it's our best option."

"Is that all?" Asked Batman, narrowing his eyes.

"Yes," replied Raven, fixing Batman with her own icy stare.

"Are you sure?"

Slowly making her way across the room, Raven stopped just in front of Batman, never breaking eye contact. Descretely raising a hand, a warming glow began emanating from her fingertips, healing Batman's injured shoulder.

"I'll need a few minutes to prepare before I attempt the spell," she said quickly as she turned around and headed out the door, leaving an uneasy silence in her wake.

* * *

Raven sat on a bed in the barracks of the Watch Tower, doing her best to settle her emotions, which still raged inside her like a hurricane. Angry tears welled up in the corners of her eyes as she replayed the previous scenes events over again in her mind.

'How dare he,' she thought. 'He doesn't know anything about me. He doesn't know anything about how hard it is, knowing what I know. How could he just pass judgment on me like that?'

Her thoughts then drifted to Beast Boy, standing silent as the events played out. What did he think of her now? What could he think of her?

"Raven?" Came a voice from behind her.

She didn't need to turn around to know who it was, to know it was him.

"Please go away, Beast Boy," she said, trying to control her cracking voice. "I need time to prepare."

"Come on, Rave," said the changeling, sitting down beside her. "I know you well enough to know when you're just escaping from a situation."

He attempted to look her in the eyes, but she kept her head turned away.

"Look Raven, don't listen to what that jerk says," said the changeling with a gentle, comforting quality to his voice. "You're NOT a liability, and I haven't considered you a threat for years."

Raven allowed herself a small smile at Beast Boy's attempt at levity.

"Listen," he continued. "I'm really glad I met you and I know the other Titan's feel the exact same way. So really, what else matters? Right?"

Placing a hand on her shoulder, Beast Boy pulled her into a comforting embrace.

Raven could feel heat rising to her face and a smile crossing her lips. Somehow, at her lowest points, Beast Boy always knew the exact right thing to say to make her feel better.

However, another thought occurred to her.

"How come you didn't say any of this back there?"

Beast Boy chuckled.

"Maybe you couldn't tell with all that was going on, but I was doing everything I could to keep from tackling Batchump to the ground and making him eat his words."

"So why didn't you?" Asked Raven with a small smirk.

"The dude was injured. It wouldn't have been fair. When I knock his lights out I don't want it to be considered a fluke."

Raven let out the tiniest giggle and raised her head so that her eyes met Beast Boy's. Their conversation from earlier popped into her head. There were so many things she wanted to tell him.

"Gar…"

But she faltered, the seeds of fear and self-doubt forcing her silence. Instead she returned her head to his shoulder, simply wanting to bask in his comfort for a while longer. Unfortunately, she wouldn't even get that much as a knock came at the door.

"Raven, are you ready?" Asked Starfire from the other side. "The others would like to begin as soon as possible."

Feeling disappointment wash over her, Raven stood and adjusted her cloths.

"I'm coming," she said.

Beast Boy stood as well and sharing one last look, the two exited the room.


	11. Chapter 11

"Starfire, wait," called Nightwing, running to catch up with the Tameranean as she floated down the hall towards the holding cells.

The woman gave him a quick look over her shoulder before simply continuing on her way.

"Star, please, I need to talk with you," he pleaded, gripping her gently by the arm.

"Yes, how may I help you?" replied Starfire, barely trying to hide her displeasure.

Nightwing grimmiced at her coldness, but continued anyway.

"I wanted to explain about…back there."

"There is no need. The Batman needed to know, so you told him. I understand."

Turning up her nose, the Tameranean attempted to continue on her way, but the young man was not willing to let her go so easily.

"Starfire, please," he begged. "There's more to it than that."

"I am sorry, Dick, but I believe there are more important matters at hand right now," replied Starfire curtly before pulling her arm out of his grasp and quickly disappearing down the hall.

Standing in the empty hallway and feeling more alone than he had in a long time, Nightwing lowered his head and let out a defeated sigh. If ever he could take back the last ten years of his life.

"She'll get over it," came an all too familiar voice from behind him. "Just give her some time."

Anger went through Nightwing's body quick as a shot.

"Don't you dare try to be Mr. Understanding right now, Bruce," snapped Nightwing spinning around and coming face to face with Batman.

"There's no reason to feel guilty, Dick," said Batman, ignoring Nightwing's outburst.

"Why shouldn't I? I mean they're my best friends and unfortunately I can't say this is the first time I've ever made them feel like I betrayed them."

"You did what was necessary," The Dark Knight insisted. "In this life, preparation is crucial to survival. Especially for us."

"Us?" said Nightwing, his voice giving off a particularly cold tone.

"That's right. In case you haven't noticed, there's not a single person on this watchtower who couldn't take you and I apart in a second."

"Don't," threatened Nightwing, his voice dropping to a menacing octave.

Ignoring Nightwing's threat, Batman continued, his voice increasing in strength.

"We're at a constant disadvantage, you and I, and for that reason, it's imperative that we always remain one step ahead."

A uneasy silence grew between the two men as Nightwing attempted to process what he had heard. After a few seconds a small smirk formed on the masked man's lips.

"You know its funny, Bruce," he said. "When I first met Raven, she reminded me so much of you. The way she was calm, collected, intelligent. The way she knew just what to say and do to get what she wanted out of a criminal. Hell, for a long time I thought she might have been your double. But after a while I found there was one major difference between you and her."

Nightwing let another silence pass between them before continuing.

"Even if she doesn't always show it, she trusts us."

Not bothering to wait for an answer, Nightwing brushed past Batman and continued on his way. As he walked away, he reflected on Batman's words. Like always, logic and reason was on Batman's side, however; Nightwing had learned a long time ago that having logic on your side meant nothing if your heart wasn't.

* * *

Raven walked down the hallway with purpose as Beast Boy followed closely behind her. She wasn't sure if she could in fact remove Trigon's will from Superman's body, but she was most assuredly going to try.

When they got to the cell they found the Titans and the League waiting for them; Nightwing, Cyborg and Starfire on one side, and Batman, Flash, Wonder Woman and Green Lantern on the other.

"Is he awake?" said Raven, turning to Green Lantern.

"I think so," he replied. "He's been in there muttering to himself for the past ten minutes."

Raven found this strange, but quickly brushed her suspicions aside. There was work to be done and she needed to be focused. Standing up to her father was the hardest thing she had ever done, and truthfully she felt incredibly apprehensive about confronting him. Nothing in this universe scared her more than having to be in his presence.

Her fear must have been all over her face because she suddenly felt a gentle hand on her shoulder. Turning, she found Beast Boy's emerald eyes shining down on her with concern.

"Are you okay?"

"Yes, I'm fine," she lied.

Sensing her distress, Beast Boy, gave her shoulder a reassuring squeeze.

"Hey," he said softly. "You're going to do awesome." His toothy grin spread across his face.

Raven's heart swelled and suddenly she was filled with renewed confidence.

"Open up the door," she said firmly. "And lock it behind me."

Throwing the lock, Lantern opened the door and allowed Raven access to the prison. After taking a few steps inside, the door closed shut.

The cell was of modest size, not terribly small. It was however small enough, so that the flashing glow of the kryptonite fragment sitting on the table filled the room with a bright green light.

Raven immediately spotted the still possessed Superman sitting in the corner of the room. His head was down and, just as Green Lantern said, he seemed to be whispering an indistinguishable string of words to himself.

"Hello, Father," said Raven coldly.

With a great deal of effort, the demon raised his head. Despite his weakness, his deep, sinister eyes combined with the green from the kryptonite gave him a terrifying appearance.

"Hello daughter, he said wearily. "I was hoping I would see you again." He paused for a moment. "I suppose you're here to send me back to the void."

"Yes," replied Raven sternly.

The demon chuckled, bringing about a small coughing fit.

"Such curtness," he wheezed. "Is that how you speak to your father."

"No, it's how I speak to a monster like you," replied Raven with venom dripping from each word.

Trigon managed another weak laugh.

"You know it's not too late," he said. "You could still make things right. Help me escape, bring my body through to this dimension, take your proper place by my side."

Raven took no time coming up with an answer.

"Not a chance."

Trigon smirked.

"Just thought I would try."

Slowly, the demon pulled himself to his feet, leaning against the wall for support.

"You know, when I journeyed back to this dimension my initial goal was to seek out a host that would best aid me in my mission. Before finding the Kryptonian, I explored many different bodies, many different minds. While most were quickly dismissed as being too weak, I always took the time to probe their mind for information, not knowing what might become beneficial to me."

As Trigon spoke, Raven noticed his fragile voice become steadier with each word. It seemed his strength was actually returning to him.

"Most of what I gathered was useless, but a sorceress named Tala did provide some interesting spells, such as one for changing the physical property of matter."

The reality of the situation suddenly came crashing down on Raven when she realized that the glow of the kryptonite fragment, which had been so prominent when she first entered the room, was now fading. Fear rushed through her as she turned to see that it was now nothing more than a regular stone. Sensing Trigon's wicked presence returning to full power, she turned back to find him towering just in front of her with a look of pure malice adorning his face.

With unfathomable quickness, the monster gripped her savagely around the throat and raised her into the air.

"Let it be known, daughter," he hissed. "You were given fair chance."


	12. Chapter 12

Raven choked for breath as she felt the demonic kryptonian's powerful fingers close around her windpipe. Every attempt to speak only resulted in pained gasps. She frantically tried to call forth her powers, but her desperation combined with her inability to vocalize her mantra made her more or less helpless.

"It would be so simple," hissed Trigon, his grip tightening ever so slightly. "One small twitch."

Raven began to panic. She was certain she was going to die.

"But no," continued Trigon. "You do not deserve such quick release. For you're trechery, I am going to see to it that you know suffering the likes of which the cosmos has never known."

Trigon's eyes lit up as a sinister thought suddenly flashed in his mind. He let out a low throaty laugh.

"In fact," he sneered. "Why don't we start by seeing what in this miserable world matters most to you?"

Raven struggled as Trigon roughly placed a large hand across her forehead. Immediately, an intense red energy began coursing through her body and soon she felt Trigon's unmistakable presence probing the deep recesses of her mind.

Thousands of thoughts and images passed from Raven mind to Trigon's in a matter of seconds. Thousands of thoughts, memories and ideas flashed before Trigon's mind's eye. Some were barely visible, while others carried a brilliant glow. These were what the demon was looking for. In a nanosecond he probed Raven's mind, studying which thoughts triggered the strongest emotional response. When he was done, it was clear to him where his revenge against her would start.

Almost as suddenly as he had entered, Trigon's presence left Raven's mind. The empath felt a deep feeling of dread well up inside her as she looked into the possessed kryptonian's smirking face.

"He will be the first," he said in a menacing whisper.

Raven went numb.

"Beast Boy," she croaked.

"Yes, my dear," he replied smiling. "His suffering will be legendary, and it will be all because of you."

A righteous fury filled Raven's entire being as Beast Boy's innocent face flashed in her mind. So long as there was breath in her body, Trigon would NOT have him.

Summoning all her focus and concentration, she felt her soul self rise up from her body. The demon's eyes widened in shock as the spirit suddenly plunged itself deep into his consciousness.

Trigon yelled in pain as the Raven's etheral form ripped and clawed viciously at his mind, doing everything in its power to tear his presence from his host body.

"No," screamed Trigon. "NOOOOOO!"

* * *

Beast Boy paced back and forth in the hall. He hated waiting. He so desperately wanted to be with Raven, but since he knew absolutely nothing about magic, waiting was all he could do. Regardless, with each passing second, he could feel his anxiety growing.

Cyborg, noticing Beast Boy's apprehension, stepped up and placed a comforting hand on his green friend's shoulder.

"Hey, man, you okay?"

"Not by a long shot," chuckled Beast Boy nervously.

Cyborg offered a kind smile.

"Don't worry, B. Raven knows what she's doing."

Before Cyborg could reassure the changeling that everything would be fine, an enormous energy blast rocketed the cell door off its hinges, catching all those in the vicinity by surprise.

Turning to the now wide-open cell, the group spotted the still possessed Superman standing in the doorway his eyes glowing a terrifying red.

"I will not be stopped," he bellowed before flying down the hallway at blinding speed.

Filled with concern for Raven's safety, Beast Boy chose to ignore the demon and instead quickly entered the open cell. His heart sank as he spotted Raven lying still on the floor.

"Raven," he called desperately, rushing to her side. Gently he brought her unconscious form into his arms. "Raven?"

He felt relief wash over him as she gave a gentle moan. She was alive.

"Yo, B, is she okay?" called Cyborg from outside the cell.

"I think so," the changeling replied, looking over his shoulder.

"Alright, stay with her. The rest of the league went after Trigon, we're going to follow them."

"Be careful, Cy," called Beast Boy as he watched Cyborg disappear from sight.

With Cyborg gone, Beast Boy returned his attention to the woman in his arms.

"Raven, can you hear me?"

Raven let out another moan as her eyes slowly fluttered open.

"I saw…" she said groggily.

"Raven?"

"I touched his mind," said the empath, sitting up. "I know his plan."

* * *

Trigon sped down the halls of the Watchtower, his mind racing as some of the faster members of the Justice League and Titans (Flash, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Starfire) followed closely behind him. Despite Superman's awesome strength there had been far too many close calls, and Trigon could no longer take any chances. The time for games was over. He already knew where he needed to go to complete his mission, but he needed to ensure that earth's heroes would not follow. In other words he needed a distraction. Fortunately, looking deeply into Superman's mind while he sat in the jail cell had revealed the answer to his problems.

The group watched as the Kryptonian made a sudden sharp turn and drastically increased his speed.

"Where's this guy going?" pondered Flash aloud.

Wonder Woman, taking note of their location, felt panic rise up within her. The creature supposedly knew everything Superman knew, and if her suspicions were right then they would all soon be in grave danger.

* * *

Arriving roughly a minute before the others, Trigon had a moment to admire the device in front of him. The room held many interesting pieces of technology, but this was what he wanted. Wonder Woman's commanding voice suddenly broke him away from his thoughts.

"Stop him," she cried.

Not wasting any time, the kryptonian snatched up the device into his hands and made a hasty exit, smashing through one of the Watchtower's massive windows.

"We have to go after him," shouted Wonder Woman as the room began to depressurize.

Without saying a word, Starfire and Green Lantern gave chase. The group watched the duo exit the tower just as the emergency hatch sealed up the busted window behind them.

* * *

"This is perfect," grinned Trigon. "The creature trapped within this device will be the herald to my arrival."

With a dastardly grin, Trigon activated the infamous Phantom Zone Projector, took aim at the earth, and fired. He laughed wickedly as a solid white beam rocketed straight towards the planet below him, unleashing the terror within the device.

Movement in the corner of his eye caught his attention, and the demon turned just in time to see Green Lantern and Starfire heading straight for him.

"You're too late," laughed Trigon. "This is the beginning of the end." With ease, the demon crushed the device with his bare hands and soared off into deep space.

"What was that?" asked Starfire.

The expression on Green Lantern's face was grim.

"I think things just got even more complicated," he said solemnly as he gathered up the pieces of the Phantom Zone Projector.

* * *

The land just outside Metropolis was a sprawling countryside full of peace and tranquility. Unfortunately, the calm of the day was suddenly shattered as a white beam came from the heavens and smashed into the ground, creating a massive crater in the soil. After the dust settled, up from the ground came the beast. He was a being of unstoppable, uncontrollable power. His only mission was the eradication of life. Once again, the savagery of Doomsday had been unleashed upon the world.


	13. Chapter 13

The mood was bleak in the Watchtower as the Justice League and Titans (minus Beast Boy and Raven) stood in the bridge, watching satellite images of a recently freed Doomsday tearing through the wilderness just a few miles outside Metropolis. The monster was laying waste to every life form in his path.

"This day just keeps getting better and better," lamented Flash.

"It won't be long before Doomsday reaches the city limits," said Green Lantern. "We've got to mobilize."

"What is this creature?" asked Starfire aloud.

"Doomsday, a living weapon of indescribable power. The last time he was unleashed, even Superman was barely enough to stop him."

On the other side of the room, Batman tapped incessantly at a keyboard.

"J'onn, anything yet?" he said into his headset.

"Nothing," replied the Martian. "Trigon has either found and removed the tracking device or gone too far out of range. Either way I fear we have lost him."

"Well keep looking," insisted Batman. "We have to find where he went."

"What about Doomsday?" said Nightwing, stepping up beside Batman. "It won't be long before a lot of people are in danger."

"I'm aware of that," snapped the dark knight. "But none of this will matter if Trigon finds a way through to our world."

"I'll handle Trigon," came Raven's voice, announcing her arrival.

The group turned to see the empath enter the room accompanied closely by Beast Boy.

"The rest of you do what you can to hold off Doomsday. I'll go after Trigon."

"What are you talking about?" asked Batman skeptically.

"Before Trigon escaped I dove deep into his mind and learned of his entire plan," replied Raven. "It seems Earth lacks the proper equipment to penetrate the number of dimensions necessary to reach his body. But since he had access to Superman's mind, it wasn't difficult to find a planet that did have the technology."

"And that planet?" asked Wonder Woman.

"Apocalypse," replied Raven.

With the mention of the unholy planet, silence filled the room as members of the Justice League exchanged looks of concern. The situation was becoming more dire with each new development. Despite this, however; the Titan's chose to be optimistic.

"Well alright," boomed Cyborg, "We know where he is, lets go kick Trigon's ass."

"Yeah," cheered Beast Boy, pumping a fist into the air. "Titan's together."

"NO," said Raven sternly, officially shutting down the enthusiasm. "I'm going after Trigon. The rest of you need to stay hear and see to it that monster doesn't reach the city."

Beast Boy opened his mouth to speak, but the empath quickly cut him off.

"I'm the only one who can force Trigon's mind back into the void," she said.

"If you're going to Apocalypse, you're going to need a way to get there fast," said Batman stepping forward.

* * *

Once the situation was explained, the team's quickly snapped into action. An emergency message was broadcasted on all JLA radio channels, calling for all Justice League members to get to Metropolis as fast as they could. The emergency alarm sounded, and every Justice Leaguer aboard the Watchtower was instructed to report to the docking bay where they could be escorted to the battlefield. Meanwhile J'onn would stay behind and do his best to repair the Phantom Zone Projector as quickly as possible. Time was of the essence. Every second that passed meant Doomsday was that much closer to unleashing hell upon the unsuspecting populace.

* * *

"With Superman's speed its very likely he has already reached Apocalypse," said Batman as he escorted Raven through the hallway.

"Do you suspect he's strong enough to penetrate the planet's defenses by himself?" asked Raven.

Batman leveled her with a serious gaze.

"I guarantee it," he said.

"Then we can assume it won't take long before he gathers enough knowledge to construct his trans-dimensional machine," concluded Raven.

"Yes," said Batman. "So if you stand any chance of reaching him in time, you'll need a boom tube."

"Boom tube?"

"A point to point travel portal opened by a device called a Mother Box. The League received one as a gift from the planet of New Genesis. With it you'll arrive on Apocalypse in a matter of seconds."

Raven nodded in understanding. She was about to suggest that they not waste anymore time when, over the ruckus of the Watchtower, she heard her name being called."

"Raven, wait."

Turning, Raven spotted Beast Boy running up to her.

"Beast Boy, I don't have time-"

"I need to talk to you," Beast Boy interrupted.

"Beast Boy, I-"

"Please."

Raven turned to Batman questioningly.

"Make it quick," said Batman before turning and walking down the hall.

"What is it?" she asked, turning her attention back to Beast Boy.

"Raven, why are you doing this?

"Doing what?"

"I thought you knew by now you don't have to shoulder these kinds of things by yourself anymore. We can help you. I can help you."

Guilt washed over her, as Beast Boy spoke.

"I know," she stammered. "Its just…"

"Just what?" asked Beast Boy, his voice full of concern.

Raven thought back to her previous encounter with Trigon. His threat against Beast Boy rang hauntingly through her head. Because of her feelings for him, Trigon had promised that Beast Boy would know great suffering. She could not let that happen. Despite the danger he would face on earth, he would still have the support of the Justice League. Hopefully it would be enough to keep him safe.

She stepped forward and gently caressed his cheek, a small smile gracing his face as she did so.

She would do whatever it took to protect him.

"Gar," she said softly. "I just…need you to be okay."

"I will be," he said just as soft.

Looking deeply into his eyes, a powerful longing came over her. She felt tempted to really show him how much she truly loved him. But instead she stepped back. It wasn't the time.

"Stay here, Gar," she said. "Help the League."

"Raven-"

"Please Gar," she begged.

Beast Boy lowered his eyes to the ground as the woman that meant the world to him silently turned and drifted down the hall, leaving him alone.

* * *

"This is it?" Raven asked Batman as he held up the square, electronic device.

"Yes," said Batman plainly.

With a few quick button presses a glowing white tube opened up before them.

"Now let's go," he said.

Raven's head snapped towards him in surprise.

"What? I said I would do this alone," she said.

"I know," replied Batman.

Raven leveled a glare at Batman.

"If you want you can try to stop me," he said.

Narrowing her eyes, she quickly turned and began her trek into the boom tube, Batman following a few steps behind.

* * *

"Is everybody accounted for?" called Green Lantern to the mass of costumed heroes standing before him.

The crowd murmured in agreement.

The time had come. As soon as Green Lantern had encased all heroes aboard the Watchtower within the protective glow of his power ring, the docking bay doors opened and the team's journey to Earth began. Once there, they would launch an all out offensive against Doomsday.

Standing quietly, Starfire was mentally preparing herself for the oncoming battle when she heard Nightwing's familiar voice in her ear.

"Star."

"Yes," she replied as she slowly turned to face him.

"Starfire, I need you to understand about my telling Batman about the team."

"Oh?" she said, clearly unmoved.

Nightwing breathed a deep sigh.

"Star, it wasn't something I did lightly."

Nightwing cast his eyes down and took a deep breath.

"The truth is, I never felt right about it. But its just... Batman, he… took me in after my parents died, taught me everything I know. I wanted to help him regardless of how I felt. I thought eventually I would understand."

Nightwing took another breath as he collected his thoughts.

"But as the years wore on, I only became more conflicted. I started to wonder: were any of my decisions, my actions…were they my own…or was it all just an extension of his will"

A thought suddenly occurred to Starfire.

"So that day, when you forsook the name Robin…?"

Nightwing nodded.

"I told him I wasn't going to be his informant anymore. I wanted to stand on my own, really make my own way."

Nightwing took hold of Starfire's hand and looked into her green eyes.

"I just wanted you to know."

When Starfire's face gave no signs of forgiveness, Nightwing grew concerned.

"Star?"

"You still need to say you are sorry," she said finally.

"Oh," said Nightwing surprised.

"And if you really wish to apologize, you can say it clearly and confidently," said the Tameranean, crossing her arms.

Nightwing looked around and realized a number of his fellow heroes were now focused on them, including Cyborg who crossed his metallic arms and gave a "Well what are you waiting for?" look.

Nightwing chuckled nervously. Starfire was behaving more like an Earth woman every day.

"Starfire," he said with the utmost sincerity. "I'm truly sorry for betraying your trust."

"The team's trust," corrected Starfire.

"The team's trust," said Nightwing. "And it would mean so much to me if you could find it in your heart to forgive me."

A brilliant smile crossed Starfire's face as tears threatened to come pouring down her cheeks.

"Oh of course," she said loudly as she threw her arms around him in a tight embrace.

As soon as he could breath again, Nightwing breathed a sigh of relief.

"Now, my love," declared Starfire passionately. "We must prepare ourselves. The time for battle draws near."

Nightwing grinned. God he loved this woman.


	14. Chapter 14

Raven had only ever heard stories of the dark planet: Apocalypse. She had heard of the mile wide fire pits that spat torrents of flames high into the air; of the blood red sky that stretched to the far reaches of the planet; of the massive monolithic structures that decorated the ravaged landscape; of its nightmarish occupants; and of course of its savage dictator with a heart blacker than the blackest night that ruled them. Now that she was here, she realized that no amount of words could match seeing the monstrosity in its entire horrific splendor. She would have been terrified if not for one thing: Raven had known true hell once before.

After coming through the boom tube, the duo found themselves on the outskirts, just outside Apocalypses capital city; the cold, industrial quality of which was enough to make any Earthen environmentalist weep uncontrollably.

Raven and Batman made their way to the top of the nearest ridge, giving themselves a perfect view of the monstrous city as Batman produced a pair of binoculars.

"Is he here?" asked Raven.

"You tell me," said Batman, handing her the binoculars.

With them, Raven could clearly see dozen bodies lining the streets. All sorts of vicious looking creatures lay strewn about in varying conditions, some in crumpled heaps, some with missing limbs, some even ripped in half. Raven couldn't help swallowing nervously.

"Darkseid's Palace is in the center of the city," spoke Batman. "It houses the planet's most advanced technology."

Raven readjusted her gaze and spotted a massive tower, the top of which disappeared into the black clouds above. It was as if the architecture pierced the sky itself.

"Then that's where we're going," said Raven standing.

With a wave of her hand, a protective bubble surrounded Batman and herself, and in the blink of an eye, began rocketing them towards the gargantuan structure in the center of the city.

* * *

Starfire had seen much of the galaxy. She had been to many different words, spoken with an enormous variety of alien species, and had done battle with many fiercesome creatures. But never in her life had she seen anything like the monster in front of her.

Doomsday was almost beyond comprehension. The beast spoke not a word and seemed to understand nothing but destruction. It's appearance was nightmare inducing. It's body, a solid mass of grey muscle with jagged, white spikes, capable of piercing the most durable alien metal, jutting out from his hands and back and knees. It's eyes, black as nothingness, contained red irises that seemed to stab at one's very soul. When those terrible eyes became fixed on a target, death was almost a guarantee, and now they were fixed at the entire Justice League.

The League stood strong as the creature came into view. Wonder Woman at the front, flanked by Green Lantern, Hawk Girl and Flash. Just behind them were Starfire, Nightwing, Cyborg, Black Canary, Captain Atom, Red Tornado, Hawk and Dove, and dozens of others all ready and willing to stop Doomsday's onslaught. They were a multicolored army of brave and gifted men and women, each prepared to lay down their lives for the sake of protecting those who didn't have the means to protect themselves.

For a moment Doomsday stopped his march and simply stared at the collective in front of him. A soul crushing silence came over the battlefield, the calm before the storm. Then without a sound, the creature broke into a run, quickly closing the gap between he and the group of costumed heroes.

"This is where we draw the line," commanded Wonder Woman as she soared high above the group. "This is where we hold him. Doomsday gets no further."

Without even waiting for a command to attack, the heroes charged, some flying, some running, but all heading straight for the beast.

* * *

The streets of Metropolis were empty. They had been cleared in preparation for the oncoming battle that could come spilling into them at a moments notice. All was quiet. Voices were hushed; there was no traffic, no people, only silence.

Then came the fury; a cavalcade of thunderous booms echoed through the air as several miles outside the city, incredible forces of nature, science and the like did battle. It was surely a spectacle that most wished they could see, but hoped they wouldn't.

* * *

The number of bodies seemed to increase, as the duo got closer to the massive tower in the center of the city. Logic told them they were heading in the right direction. Eventually the main entrance came into view, and a thought occurred to Raven.

"What happens if we run into Darkseid?"

Batman didn't turn to face her, but rather kept his eyes straight ahead.

"I don't think that's going to be a problem."

Raven followed Batman's gaze and what she saw did nothing to boost her confidence. Slouched against the massive doors of Darkseid's palace was the dictator himself; his face, horribly bruised and beaten, and each of his limbs snapped like a twig.

"Trigon's been busy," said Raven dryly.

"I don't think Darkseid ever really knew how much Superman was holding back when they fought," replied Batman.

"I think he knows now," said Raven.

Not wanting to waste anymore time, the duo rushed through the entrance of the palace.

It was imperative that they find Trigon as fast as possible, so focusing her thoughts, Raven recalled the intense rage she felt from him back in Metropolis. Using that as a guide, she led the duo through halls of the palace. More bodies greeted them as they traveled, the different uniforms suggesting they were scientists of Apocalypse. The scenario was playing out much like the encounter at Star Labs.

They were getting closer; Trigon's presence was getting stronger. Finally, Raven and Batman approached a massive set of double doors.

"He's in there," said Raven.

"Are you certain?" asked Batman.

Raven nodded.

"Are you ready?"

Again Raven nodded.

With a swift kick, Batman forced open the doors, revealing a great hall with a mile high ceiling and a dark gothic layout. In the center of the room, with his back towards the pair, still in Superman's body, stood Trigon.

"I was wondering when you would arrive," he said. From the way he was standing, he appeared to be hiding something.

The pair took several steps into the room.

"Superman's hearing is quite amazing, isn't it?" said Batman plainly.

The demon snorted indignantly.

"It was acceptable," said Trigon, still with his back turned. "It at least warned me of your arrival," The beast turned around and took a revealing step to the right.

Now Raven and Batman could clearly see what he had been hiding. To his right, sitting on a kind of tripod was a large device, the size of a car engine. It was rectangular shaped with rounded corners: on one end two sturdy handles, and on the other a kind of long cylinder. It was adorned with buttons and switches and the entire look of the device resembled the Phantom Zone Projector.

"What I found most useful was the Kryptonian's speed," he said smirking. "Once I had gathered the proper intelligence, it allowed me to construct my transdimensional portal device quite swiftly." Trigon turned back and ran a longing hand over the machine. "With this, I will finally be able to reclaim what is rightfully mine."

"I wouldn't count on that," said Batman plainly.

At that, Trigon burst into laughter.

"And why would that be? I'm the one with all the power."

"You've forgotten," said Batman dispensing a remote from beneath his cape. "Every strength can be turned into a weakness."

With the press of a button an intense high-pitched tone filled the room. Trigon roared in pain as the noise ravaged the super sensitive hearing of his Kryptonian host. Throwing his hands over his ears, he did his best to block out the horrible noise, but still it persisted. Losing the will to even stand, he dropped to his knees and doubled over in pain.

"Do it now," commanded Batman.

Raven nodded and approached the debilitated monster.

"Good-bye, Trigon," she said disdainfully, her hands and eyes beginning to glow.

* * *

Wonder Woman yelped in pain as another thunderous blow from Doomsday sent her crashing to the ground. Black Canary opened her throat wide and bombarded the beast with a sonic scream, as Booster Gold pelted him with energy blasts. Every attack was simply absorbed by the mindless behemoth as he turned his focus from one hero to the next.

Green Lantern gripped Doomsday in a massive green fist while Supergirl leveled the beast with lefts and rights, and Captain atom blasted him with radiation. Summoning impossible strength, the hulking monstrosity overpowered Green Lantern's will and broke free of the green energy. Gripping Supergirl by the throat, he drove the blonde into the ground and then hurled her body at Captain Atom, knocking him out of the sky.

The beast was unlike anything Starfire had ever encountered. Like everyone else, she had taken her own shots at the monster. Every blow she threw at it felt like punching granite, and only succeeded in bruising and bloodying her knuckles, and her star bolts and eye blasts were no more affective. Breathing heavily she settled down next to Nightwing who, after tossing every exploding, freezing and acidic birdaring he had, found there was little more he could do.

"Starfire, are you okay?" he asked.

"Regrettably I am not. All of my attacks seemed to be completely ineffectual.

Nightwing racked his brain for a solution, but ultimately he came to only one conclusion.

"Star?"

"Yes?"

Nightwing's tone became grave.

"I think we only have one choice."

Starfire thought deep about what Nightwing was suggesting. It was an attack that, because of its sheer power and uncontrollable nature, was only used for the direst of emergencies.

"I believe you may be right," she replied firmly. "Clear the area."

Nightwing nodded and watched as Starfire took off into the sky.

'Get back! Everyone!" shouted Nightwing. "Everyone get clear."

High up into the sky, the Tameranean goddess soared, bathing every inch of her being in the sun's nurturing light. Her pores opened wide, absorbing as much radiation as she could until her body glowed with a brilliant incandescence and her long luxurious mane resembled a roaring fire.

Brimming with all the energy of the brightest star, the Tameranean shot back to Earth, heading straight for Doomsday. Eyes full of determination, and letting loose a primal yell heard for miles, she collided with the brute and expunged every bit of energy in her body in a massive solar flare, the resulting flash being so bright that none in the area could stand to look.

After a few seconds, the flash faded and Nightwing dared a look. There was a giant crater where Doomdsay once stood, and a few yards away lay a motionless Starfire. Quickly Nightwing ran to her side.

"Starfire," he said, his voice full of worry.

The Tameranean voiced a small moan in response.

"Star, are you alright?"

"I believe so," she replied, opening her eyes half way. "I am very tired."

Nightwing chuckled lightly. He leaned in to place a gentle kiss on the exhausted woman's lips, but stopped when he heard a rustling sound. Dreading what he would see, he looked to the crater to catch Doomsday pulling himself to his feet, appearing largely unscathed. The battle was not yet over, but if something was not done, Nightwing feared it soon would be.

* * *

The sacred words of a long dead language danced gracefully over Raven's lips as her hands and eyes glowed a brilliant white, Trigon's host body glowing the same white in response. The glow became brighter and brighter as the spell reached its peak, bathing the entire room in the intense light, until finally the spell reached its conclusion.

With another button-press, Batman silenced the ultrasonic noise, and Raven cautiously bent down to examine Superman's body. She wasn't sure if she had succeeded. Trigon's presence had not entirely disappeared, but it was certainly not as strong as it had been.

"Superman?" she asked hesitantly.

With a groan, the man of steel slowly pulled himself into a sitting position.

"I'm…I'm in control again," he said incredulously as he stared at his hands.

Raven allowed herself a small sigh of relief. She was certain that the demon was no longer in control of Superman, and yet it's presence had not entirely vanished. It was faint, but she was certain it was still there.

Realization came like a shot.

Snapping her head up she spotted Batman, the device in his grasp.

"Now, your world ends," he bellowed, swiftly activating the device.

Instantly a white beam shot forth from the machine, tearing through reality. With a deafening boom a large portal opened in the center of the room.

Raven watched in horror as an ethereal, red energy shot from Batman's body and entered the portal. There was a brilliant flash, and before she could vocalize any sort of response, the demon king, Trigon once again set foot in our dimension.


	15. Chapter 15

The portal snapped and popped with energy as the demonic Trigon stepped through. Raising his horned head he let loose a terrifying cackle. Raven could almost feel her heart stop as she gazed upon the horrible visage in front of her.

The beast stood nearly fifteen feet tall, a being of unspeakable of evil. His muscles flexed with immense power and his eyes beamed menacingly with a sickening, yellow glow. His silver hair blew magnificently amidst the awesome wind coming from the inter-dimensional portal, which still glowed bright behind him. He was evil incarnate, and now he had once again returned to Earth's dimension.

"At long last," he bellowed triumphantly. "I have returned to right what was wronged and reclaim what is rightfully mine."

Casting his eyes about the room, the demon spotted a half unconscious Batman- having been rendered so by the residual effects of Trigon's powerful spirit leaving his body- lying on the floor along side the still active portal device. Trigon smiled maliciously, and his eyes began glowing with vile power.

Reacting quickly, Raven cast an energy field around the unconscious Batman and quickly pulled him to safety milliseconds before he was obliterated by Trigon's eye blast. Trigon smirked at Raven's heroism.

"Still you resist me daughter," he said. "Don't you realize? Your struggle has long ago been rendered futile."

Raven gave no response, but a newly revitalized Superman did.

"Nothing's over yet," he said boldly before burying a Kryptonian fist right between the demon's eyes, followed by several more. Trigon winced under the power of the man of steel's blows, but was far, far from surrender. With godlike speed he backhanded the son of Krypton and sent him careening headlong into a wall. Superman recovered quickly though and flew immediately back into the fray.

As Superman continued his assault against Trigon, Raven tended to the downed Batman. Administering a generous dose of her healing light, she had the dark knight awake in a matter of seconds.

"Come on," she said to Batman as he rubbed his head. "We have to help Superman."

"Wait," he said, his voice cracking ever so slightly.

"What for?" asked Raven, confused.

Quickly, Batman scooped up the portal device.

"We can reverse the polarity of the portal with this. Maybe draw him back through."

"You know how it works?"

Ignoring her for a moment, Batman began fiddling with the dials and buttons.

"For that brief moment he was in my mind, I saw a flash of all the knowledge he acquired in order to build it. It's fading fast, but I should be able to…"

Batman wasn't able to finish, as suddenly, a red field of energy encased his entire body, immobilizing him. Looking up, Raven spotted a smirking Trigon, his hand outstretched. A downed Superman man lay behind him.

Raising his other hand a tendril of energy snaked towards Raven with incredible swiftness. Raven bolted into the air, spinning and twirling as the energy chased her. Quickly throwing up a shield around herself, she attempted to at least keep it at bay. The red energy; however, would not be stopped, and simply pushed through, encasing Raven in its power and ceasing her movements. Nevertheless she still struggled with all her might to break free from Trigon's grasp.

Trigon laughed in sick amusement as he brought the struggling Raven to eye level.

"I told you many years ago, Raven," he chided. "My coming was inevitable, yet you continue to resist me."

"And you'll have to kill me before I'll stop," she spat, defiantly.

"Rest assured, daughter, that day is coming. But first, you will watch as this pathetic universe burns. It will not be quick, as it was before. This time I will tear this reality to pieces with my bear hands."

At this, Raven smirked.

"Of course it won't be quick," she said mockingly. "It can't be since you don't have that kind of power anymore."

"What?" barked the beast.

"You're time in the void had a greater effect on you than you originally thought, didn't it?"

Trigon narrowed his eyes wickedly at the smirking girl in his grasp.

"You know its true," she said. "Even against Superman, you should have been able to defeat him effortlessly, and yet you struggled. You're weak."

Trigon's eyes widened in shock.

"You can't even draw power from outside sources anymore, can you?"

Trigon could feel his demonic blood begin to boil at his daughter's words. He was incensed at her audacity, and yet was more angered by the fact that every word she spoke was true.

"You've leveled off?" snickered Raven. "And you'll never get any stronger. Only weaker."

"Silence," boomed the demon, enraged.

Raven screamed as energy suddenly began coursing through her body.

"I will conquer this reality," bellowed Trigon, bringing the energy shock to an end and glaring at pained woman before him. "I am a being of pure power."

Raven only gave a small chuckle in response.

"You're pathetic," she spat.

"You will die for your insolence," growled the demon as he prepared shake the empath loose her mortal coil.

So engrossed was Trigon with his daughter's mocking that he failed to notice a fast approaching green cheetah which, after getting a good 70 mph sprint going, quickly leapt into the air, shifted into a long horned rhinoceros and delivered a devastating blow…right to the demon's little Trigon.

All four of Trigon's eyes bugged out from his head as he dropped to his knees in pure agony.

"Dude," moaned Beast Boy, shifting back into human form and rubbing his head. "That really, REALLY hurt."

Unable to maintain his psychic control over his victim's, the energy fields dissipated. The still somewhat disoriented Raven suddenly felt herself falling through the air, only to be firmly caught in waiting arms.

"Raven, are you okay?" asked Beast Boy, looking down at her.

As her vision cleared Raven could clearly see the concerned face of Beast Boy staring down at her.

"Beast Boy?" she said. "I thought I told you to stay on Earth."

"Oh come on Rave," said the changeling, rolling his eyes. "Since when have I ever done what you said?"

Raven smiled despite herself.

"You're impossible," she said smirking.

Batman's urgent voice suddenly broke through the air.

"Get over here, hurry," he commanded as the device in his hands began whirring with new life.

Quickly the two dashed over to Batman's side where Superman joined them.

"This is it," said Batman.

Trigon, just barely starting to recover from his injury, looked up in time to see a white beam shoot over his head and collide with the portal behind him. Immediately a mighty wind began ripping through the room, drawing him back into the void.

"No!" he screamed. "This can't be."

Refusing to surrender, he dug his nails into the floor, but could still not halt his regression. He was too close to the portal, and his strength was failing him.

Casting his eyes up, he spotted the four who had orchestrated his downfall. It was at that moment, Trigon decided that if this was his fate, so be it. So long as his traitorous daughter would not get out unscathed.

With Superman digging his feet into the ground and taking the role of human shield, Batman, Beast Boy and Raven did their best to resist the awesome force of the portal. Taking a chance, Raven peaked over the Kryptonian's shoulder just in time to see a red energy tendril racing towards her. She recoiled in surprise only to see it suddenly snake past her and wrap itself around an unsuspecting Beast Boy.

"Beast Boy!" Raven screamed as the green hero was cruelly yanked through the air, towards Trigon and the swirling vortex.

"Raven!" he yelled as he rocketed through the air.

Reacting with unprecedented speed, Raven raised her arms and encased Beast Boy in glowing black energy, considerably slowing his progress, but not stopping it.

Trigon laughed wickedly as he slid into the portal.

"It's too late, Raven," he sneered. "I may be returning to the void, but I won't be returning alone."

As Trigon slid half way back through the portal, Raven could feel her strength begin to falter. She could feel Beast Boy slipping away from her, and it was pain. Taking Beast Boy, Trigon may as well be taking her heart, her soul. She would not let it happen.

With a pained scream, Raven felt power she never knew she had begin to flow through her. Even if it killed her, she would not let Trigon lay a finger on Beast Boy.

Trigon widened his eyes in shock. He was still sliding back into the portal, but the changeling was no longer sliding with him.

"I will not be denied," he shouted, conjuring even more power as he slid completely into the portal. Beast Boy was a mere few feet away from joining the demon when Superman's voice broke through the chaos.

"Shut it down."

After a few rapid button taps by Batman, there was a bright flash and the portal disappeared.

After collapsing to the ground from the sudden withdrawal of the portal, Raven wasted no time in racing over to Beast Boy, who lay motionless on the ground.

"Beast Boy?" she said, cradling his head in her lap.'

When he didn't respond, she began to feel tears nipping at the backs of her eyes."

"Beast Boy?" she said louder, panic beginning to rise in her throat.

She nearly felt her heart stop when suddenly the changeling began to cough and sputter.

"Did we win?" he asked weakly with his eyes closed.

A relieved giggle escaped from Raven's lips.

Slowly, the changeling opened his eyes.

"Hey," he said simply.

"Hey," she replied.

Raven had never been happier to see those green eyes shining up at her.

"So how'd you get here?" she asked after a moment, smirking slightly with tears of joy in her eyes.

Beast Boy smiled.

"I might have been a…fly on your cloak?"

Another small giggle escaped Raven's lips.

"Nothing really clever about that one," said Beast Boy.

Smiling, Raven gently ran her fingertips over Beast Boy's cheek. Nothing could ruin this moment. Nothing that is, except reality.

"I hate to interrupt," said Batman dryly. "But there's still a matter that needs attending."

"He's right," agreed Superman. "Doomsday's still lose in Metropolis."

It took Raven all of one second to come to a decision.

"Ready the boom tube."

* * *

Trigon roared in aggravation as he let loose another energy blast at the never-ending darkness of the void.

"So close," he bellowed. "How could this happen?"

Like an overgrown child he began kicking and flailing at emptiness.

"Mark my words, daughter. I will find a way out of the prison. I will find a way!"

A thunderous noise suddenly caught Trigon's attention. Turning he spotted a brilliant flash in the near distance. He didn't have long to wonder about its purpose as suddenly he felt small but powerful fist slam against his skull. He barely had time to recover before another collided with his eye.

"Miserable creature," spat Trigon backing up just enough to identify his assailant. He knew the beast by its grey skin, red eyes and by the white spikes that adorned its body, and he was certain that for the remainder of his near eternal life, the beast would not be good company. Though he had always thought it impossible, on that day, Doomsday came for Trigon.


	16. Chapter 16

Raven was relieved to finally get the chance to meditate, the events of the past 24 hours having played havoc with her emotions. They had managed to imprison Trigon once more in the void and had even managed to trap Doomsday there as well, thankfully before anyone was seriously hurt. Afterwards the team returned to the watchtower to get aid for the injured and enjoy some much deserved R&R.

Now, Raven found herself in the barracks in deep meditation, sorting out recent events and finding her emotional center. At least that was what she had hoped to do. Instead she found herself racking her brain for what exactly she was going to say to Beast Boy. She knew she loved him, but as the day's events had shown, being close to her was dangerous. Despite her feelings, his safety was above all her number one concern. She just couldn't jeopardize his safety for her own desires.

The sudden appearance of an unmistakable presence behind her caught her attention.

"I don't suppose you're here to apologize," said Raven flatly without turning around.

"No," replied Batman, stepping deeper into the barracks.

Raven frowned as a moment of silence passed between them.

"Though I was partially wrong about you," he added.

Even though Raven was truly shocked to hear an admission of error coming from Batman, she didn't show it. Instead she remained silent with her back turned.

"But just some words of advice," he said. "I know from experience that trusting others with your secrets, with your safety…even with their own safety…can be difficult, but if they truly care about you, you need to take that risk."

Raven's eyes softened slightly at Batman's sincerity.

"But you can't wait forever to start trusting people. Learn to open yourself to those who have done so for you. Otherwise, you may wake up one day to find you can't."

Raven's mind processed what she had just been told and she knew exactly what she had to do. She turned to offer a "thank you" to Batman for his honesty, but found no one there.

* * *

"Are you sure there's nothing I can say to convince you to stay?" said Superman once again as the Titans stepped onto the teleporter pads.

"I'm sorry, Superman," said Nightwing, turning to face the man of steel. "We were honored by your offer, but the Justice League just isn't for us. Besides we've been away from Jump city for too long."

As Nightwing talked with Superman, Beast Boy suddenly felt a hand on his arm. Turning he saw Raven standing by him.

"Hey Rave," he said smiling. "Where have you been?"

"Just doing some thinking," she replied.

Superman suddenly caught the pair's attention.

"Well I can't thank you all enough for everything you've done. The League would at least like to know if it can call on you for your assistance in the future."

The team looked at one another for a moment.

"You can always count on the Titans," replied Nightwing confidently.

Superman smiled.

"Well if there's anything I could do for you…" he began.

"Actually," interrupted Beast Boy. "Since you offered."

* * *

The alarm of the electronics store blared loudly as the pint-sized electronics genius known as Gizmo made his escape. The metallic spider legs of his backpack made a crude drumming noise as he laughed maniacally.

"What a haul," he boasted out loud, looking over the various pieces of high tech equipment he managed to get away with. "I can make all kinds a stuff with this. Maybe I'll build a giant bomb and hold the sludge-suckers of this city ransom."

Gizmo was yanked from his planning when two crimson beams suddenly shot from the sky, obliterating one of his spider legs and sending him crashing to the ground."

"Alright," he shouted after clearing his head. "Whose the dead crud-muncher who…who…"

The sight of Superman hovering in the sunlight above him made the vertically challenged supervillain go numb.

"Hello, I'm Superman. The Titans are on vacation this week, so I'll be filling in for them."

"Oh sludge," squeaked Gizmo.

* * *

"Man, it sure feels good to be home," exclaimed Cyborg as he led the rest of the team into the common room.

"Amen," said Beast Boy. "The universe was saved, but more importantly, we got us some guilt free time off."

"Speaking of which, now I'll finally be able to put those new spoilers on the T-car. I'll see ya'll later," said Cyborg, exiting the room.

Meanwhile, Starfire had picked up the newspaper and had been studying the movie section.

"Oh, there is a new movie of the romantic comedy variety showing at the local movie theatre," she said excitedly, turning to Nightwing. "Would you care to see it with me?"

"Sure, Star," replied Nightwing smiling, though secretly he was loathing having to sit through another awful Mathew Mcconaughey movie. But if it made Starfire happy, he was willing."

The pair quickly exited, leaving just Raven and Beast Boy.

"I guess that just leaves us," said Beast Boy, scratching the back of his head.

"Yeah," said Raven quietly.

"Raven, I-" began Beast Boy, but he was cut off when Raven suddenly moved across the room and stopped just in front of the coffee table.

"I think we still have a game to finish, Garfield," she said with a smile.

Beast Boy blinked in confusion before realization struck him. In all the excitement of the day he had forgotten all about the chess game that had seemingly started it all.

"That's right," he said slyly, taking his seat in front of the game board. "And I think it was your turn."

Raven studied the pieces for a moment before a devious smile spread across her face. Picking up a piece she swiftly made her move.

"Check mate," she declared.

"What?" exclaimed Beast Boy in disbelief. Getting on his feet and shoving his face into the game board, he scrutinized the layout. After a few seconds, he realized she was right. He'd lost.

"Now what was the agreement?" asked Raven facetiously as she stood. "I believe if I won, you'd have to leave me alone for an entire month."

Beast Boy had yet to take his eyes off the board as Raven made her way past him. He couldn't believe it. He had invested so much time in this plan, and he had lost.

"You know, Gar, I'm going to be really honest with you right now," said Raven from behind him.

"Yeah?" said Beast Boy dejected.

"Yes," said Raven, who quickly spun the changeling around so he was facing her. "That's a really crummy prize."

Beast Boy barely had time to register Raven's words when he felt the empath's lips press against his own, and her arms wrap around his neck, seizing him in a kiss so emotionally powerful, he nearly lost the ability to breath. After a few seconds he wrapped his own arms around her waist and did his best to return the kiss with just as much passion.

After what seemed like and eternity, their lips parted.

"I love you, Garfield," said Raven breathlessly.

Beast Boy smiled in pure joy before bringing Raven back to him in another deep kiss. When it ended, they rested their foreheads against one another's.

"So," began Beast Boy. "Where did this sudden boldness come from?"

"Is there something wrong?" she asked.

"No, no, not at all. I love it. But I'm just wondering."

"I got some good advice," said Raven.

"From who?"

"Batman of all people."

"Really? Well that's a relief."

"Why?"

"Now I don't have to hit him. That guy's scary."

Raven only rolled her eyes.

* * *

_Author's Note: Well that's it. Thanks to everyone who read or left a review. I'll be back soon with another fic that will be a little more on the lighter side. Till then..._

_-Sir Alwick_


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